Landfill gets messy

“You’re talking trash, this is it. If you’re talking sewer, this is not it.” said Sue Jones, the Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) board member, as she got the meeting to calm down from some heated exchanges between Randy Raymer, chairman of the the board, and representatives from Blackwater Septic Solutions (Blackwater).

The meeting went over regular business in a sedate manner until Raymer got to correspondence from Blackwater. He didn’t read the letter out loud because it was from an attorney employed by Blackwater and Raymer wanted an attorney for the board to be involved before any discussion on the letter’s contents.

Jeremiah Garner from Blackwater and Raymer got heated in their exchange for several minutes, when Jones pointed out, most of Blackwater’s questions concerned the Saratoga Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board. She told the representatives from Blackwater they should meet with that board first.

Blackwater did later submit a permit for potential landfill use.

Tires from both Encampment and Saratoga have been removed, said Ron Munson, supervisor of Encampment landfill, and trailer loads of recyclables had gone to Cheyenne. Munson, also the owner of MPM Corporation and Evergreen Sanitation, won the bid for the Saratoga Transfer Station at the meeting. The contract is for three years. For the years 2017–2018, the cost comes in at $223,260.

The second reading of the budget was approved, but the rate discussion was tabled to allow for a workshop scheduled June 13. The commercial operator application review was approved, with Jones abstaining.

Board members Leroy Stephenson and Lloyd Buford had questions about the new transfer station and the guidelines for disposal of animal carcasses. Hide and bone are allowed, but offal and blood are not. If a horse dies, it can’t be taken whole.

Craig Kopasz, employee of Engineering Associates, said if blood can be mixed with some compound like cat litter, it would be allowed as long as it passes the paint filter test. The liquid will have to come to the landfill in the hardened state said Raymer.

Another problem to consider, said Raymer, is that the board cannot ensure that blood and offal put into of compound to pass the paint filter test will be allowed by the receiving landfillt.

Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) does allow for a compost pit to be at the landfill, where the bodies can decompose and later bone and hide can be removed. However, at this time, the board has not contracted an operator for such a pit.

“DEQ said we could compost it until it was hide and bone,” said Stephenson.

Kopasz says at the moment it is all verbal and when Raymer said he had tried to get it in writing, he was told by the DEQ to include that request in the permit.

There will be an onsite visit by Travis Evans, the landfill closure engineer, on July 24.

The next UPRSWDD board meeting will be held 7 p.m.July 5 at the Encampment library.