Talks on Selling Landfills to Sanitation Districts OKd

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to enter exclusive talks with the Sanitation Districts of Orange County over the possible sale of the county’s landfill system, valued at more than $200 million.

The 4-1 vote came two weeks after the board deadlocked on the issue. While some supervisors said the plan makes sense, Supervisor Marian Bergeson, who voted against the plan, argued that the county should determine whether there are any potential private sector buyers before agreeing to exclusive negotiations with the sanitation districts, which operate many of the county’s sewer systems.

The landfill system is considered one of the county’s most valuable assets and could generate significant revenue to aid bankruptcy recovery efforts. The system comprises more than 20 facilities, including four operating landfills.

Neither the county nor the districts has mentioned a possible purchase price. But earlier this year, the districts offered to acquire the system for about $200 million. The League of California Cities estimated the value of the landfills to be closer to $250 million.

Officials with the sanitation districts said they will use the next 75 days to craft a formal offer. While the operating landfills can generate substantial revenue, some of the closed dumps might require expensive repairs and could be the subject of litigation, they said.

Bergeson argued that the only way to assess the true value of the system is to allow the private sector to bid on it. “I think this is one area that the government should be able to get out of,” she said.

But other supervisors said they doubted private businesses would be willing to take responsibility for both the profitable landfills and closed dumps, many of which require constant monitoring and maintenance.

Board Chairman Roger R. Stanton and supervisors Don Saltarelli, Jim Silva and William G. Steiner voted in favor of the exclusive talks. Silva, who two weeks ago voted with Bergeson, said Tuesday that he changed his mind after further examining the liabilities associated with the landfill system.

In other board action Tuesday, supervisors unanimously approved a plan that will allow a Los Angeles trash hauler to import more than 2,000 tons of waste a day to the Bowerman landfill in Irvine.

The contract with Calsan Inc. is the final piece of the county’s trash importation plan, which is expected to net about $15 million annually.

Some local trash haulers oppose the “trash for cash” strategy because out-of-county haulers pay significantly reduced landfill gate fees. While local haulers pay $35 a ton, the outside firms are charged about $20.

County officials say the reduced rates were needed to attract bids from out-of-county haulers, who have greater transportation costs. But Saltarelli on Tuesday questioned whether the fee for local haulers is too high.

Officials at an Arizona landfill company are talking with some Orange County cities about shipping waste to its dump, located in a desert near Needles, Calif. The La Paz County landfill charges $30 per ton.