Agency Hopes to Enter Talks to Buy Landfills : Bankruptcy: Supervisors will consider negotiations on county assets, worth at least $200 million. The board also will examine two trash importation contracts.

Offering a possible boost for the county’s bankruptcy recovery efforts, the Orange County Sanitation Districts want to begin formal talks about buying the county’s landfill system--estimated to be worth at least $200 million.

At a special meeting today, the Board of Supervisors will consider entering into 75 days of exclusive negotiations with the agency over a possible sale.

The board also will consider allowing two out-of-county haulers to dump thousands of tons of trash at local landfills under a plan that would eventually generate about $9 million in annual revenue.

Both proposals mark significant steps toward accomplishing the county’s long-stated goal of using its potentially lucrative landfills to help emerge from the bankruptcy, which stemmed from a $1.7-billion loss by the county-run investment pool.

Officials stressed Monday that a deal is probably weeks away--if one is struck at all. They said the talks would give both the county and the Sanitation Districts a chance to carefully examine the benefits and drawbacks of a sale. The agency would pay a $100,000 non-refundable fee to tie up the county in exclusive negotiations.

“This is just the beginning,” cautioned Cymantha Atkinson, spokeswoman for the county’s Integrated Waste Management Department. “What the board is going to consider is kicking off preliminary negotiations.”

A deal to transfer ownership of the system--which consists of four operating landfills and more than a dozen closed facilities--would mark by far the largest sale of county assets since the Dec. 6 bankruptcy filing.

Though officials refused to discuss a possible purchase price Monday, the Sanitation Districts tentatively offered to buy the landfills earlier this year for about $200 million. A plan proposed by the League of California Cities placed the value of the system at around $250 million.

Donald F. McIntyre, general manager of the Sanitation Districts, said his negotiators won’t be able to place a firm value on the system until they determine whether some of the older facilities require expensive maintenance or are the subject of complaints or litigation.

“Those are the types of things we hope to have a good handle on within the 75 days,” McIntyre said. “Once we look at the liabilities, we will have a better idea of what the price should be.”

A sale would likely be financed by borrowing against future landfill revenue. McIntyre said a new countywide special district might be formed to operate the system.

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The landfills have long been considered one of the most valuable of the county’s salable assets. Earlier this year, Irvine officials expressed interest in taking control of the Bowerman landfill, which is in that city.

But McIntyre and others said it’s important that the system not be sold piecemeal so that the facilities still in operation can generate revenue needed to maintain the closed sites.

Any sale would likely place the landfills under the control of a governing panel made up of representatives of cities and special districts.

Stan Tkaczyk, vice president of Rainbow Disposal, said he was cautiously optimistic the talks would produce a deal that would benefit the county’s bankruptcy recovery, as well as haulers and consumers. “From what I’ve heard, I’m hopeful,” said Tkaczyk, a member of the county’s Integrated Waste Management Commission.

Irvine City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. said he is not opposed to a sale as long as the new owners are sensitive to the traffic and environmental concerns raised by residents who live near the landfills.

The county also hopes to generate revenue by importing trash from outside the county. Two importation contracts that would garner about $9 million annually will be considered by supervisors this morning.

Waste Management of California Inc. wants to import 658 tons of garbage a day from El Cajon and Oceanside to the Bowerman landfill in Irvine for at least five years. Taormina Industries Inc. wants to import up to 2,000 tons of trash per day from Los Angeles and Long Beach to the Olinda landfill in Brea for at least 10 years.

Some local trash haulers have complained about the contracts because the out-of-county firms are being offered substantial discounts on landfill fees. Waste Management of California and Taormina would pay $18 to $20 per ton compared with $35 a ton charged to local haulers.

Atkinson said the discounts are needed to generate proposals. The added transportation costs of hauling trash from outside the county would make importation prohibitive at the $35 rate, she added.

The county originally estimated trash importation could generate as much as $55 million to help with bankruptcy recovery. Because of the discounted rate, officials now expect to raise somewhat less. Atkinson said a few other importation contracts probably will come before the board by the end of the year.