OLIVIA -- Wenck Associates of Maple Plain will serve as the consultant for Renville County as it seeks a new permit for its landfill.
The Renville County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday authorized Public Works Director Marlin Larson to negotiate a contract with the firm. A county landfill committee had recommended the firm.
The committee had considered proposals from Wenck Associates as well as Earth Tech of Minneapolis; Short Elliot Hendrickson of St. Paul; Foth Infrastructure and Environment of Minneapolis; Liesch Companies of Minneapolis; and URS Corporation of Minneapolis.
Larson said the committee recommended Wenck Associates due to its experience with managing and permitting Minnesota landfills.
Due to a legal question raised about plans to expand the county landfill, the commissioners decided at their meeting Tuesday to negotiate a contract with Wenck Associates only for the new permit of the existing landfill. They intend to negotiate a separate contract with the company for permitting a new cell in an expanded landfill when the legal issue is resolved, according to Larson.
ADVERTISEMENT
A petition presented to the county earlier this year seeks an environmental assessment worksheet on the county's proposal to accept ash from a proposed waste-to-energy project. The petition also asks for the environmental review due to the possibility that the landfill is the source of vinyl chloride contamination in a residential well located south of the landfill.
The attorney for the petitioners, Jim Peters of Alexandria, said the county cannot proceed with acquiring land for the expansion until the environmental review is completed.
The county's permit for the existing landfill expires in 2008. The county estimates it has capacity for about 10 years of municipal solid waste in the existing landfill.
The county is also interested in developing a cell capable of holding ash from a proposed waste-to-energy plant for the Central Bi-Products plant near Redwood Falls. Home Farms Technologies of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, has contracted with Central Bi-Products to develop the project. It estimates that it will produce 15 tons of ash per day.
The county has not reached an agreement with Home Farms for the ash. If one is not reached, the county would likely pursue development of a new cell for municipal solid waste to accommodate needs when the existing landfill cell reaches capacity, according to Larson.
