Wake County Poised to Vote on Landfill 04/24/06

Wake County commissioners could vote as early as May 1 on building the long-planned South Wake Landfill in Holly Springs at N.C. 55 Bypass and the future Interstate 540 interchange.

In November, county commissioners postponed action on a 25-year landfill use agreement with participating towns. The board also postponed voting on a contract with the company that would operate the county-owned landfill.

Holly Springs leaders had asked for the postponement. They sought time to explore an economic development opportunity that arose for the landfill property, even without extensive marketing. The site made the final four in a nationwide search before being eliminated.

Citing experts' appraisal of its potential, Town leaders continue pressing the case that the property is too valuable for a landfill. They say the 471-acre site is prime for industrial development that could generate hundreds of jobs and bring in millions each year in property taxes.

"There are other options out there," Town Manager Carl Dean said Monday, maintaining that a landfill is not the highest and best use of the property.

Wake County is deciding what to do when the North Wake Landfill reaches capacity, which county officials have said could happen as soon as late 2007.

Rather than build another landfill, Holly Springs leaders say the county should arrange for shipping garbage out of the county.

The proposed South Wake Landfill tract is adjacent to the county's Feltonsville Landfill, which closed in the 1990s. The county currently uses part of the Feltonsville site as a transfer station for hauling waste to the North Wake Landfill.

The South Wake site has risen substantially in value since Wake County began acquiring it in the 1980s. The tract was remote then, and Holly Springs had fewer than a thousand residents. Since that time, a development boom has pushed the population to more than 17,000.

The statewide trend is toward regional, privately-owned landfills that are large enough to maximize cost-effectiveness. Holly Springs contracts for garbage collection with Waste Industries, which hauls the waste to its landfill in Sampson County.

N.C. Solid Waste Management reports that the number of publicly-owned landfills has decreased from 113 in 1993 to 42 in 2004. Tipping fees have decreased slightly during that time when adjusted for inflation.

Wake County officials project $224 million savings over 25 years from owning a landfill instead of shipping out of the county. Holly Springs officials say that figure is based on faulty assumptions and outdated numbers, adding that the landfill plan only works under ideal conditions.

The $224 million figure assumes that all Wake County towns would use the landfill. However Holly Springs and Cary, the county's second largest town, have said they will not use it. Lower trash volumes would mean higher disposal costs per ton.

Towns that commit to using the South Wake Landfill could not get out of the agreement unless all parties agree. Holly Springs officials say 25 years is too long a commitment given the lack of guarantees over construction and disposal costs.

For more information on Holly Springs' response to the landfill proposal, visit: http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/links/landfill.htm.

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Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us