12/06/90 Continuance of 11/20/90

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MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: RE: DATE: Ramsey Planning Commission William K. Goodrich, City Attorney Aluminum Processing, Inc. CUP December 4, 1990 At your meeting on November 20, 1990, regarding the above CUP application, you requested that I issue an opinion to you as to whether or not the proposed aluminum processing and recycling facility is a solid waste management facility under the definition of Ordinance 90-5. Ordinance 90-5 defines a "Solid Waste Management Facility" as "a facility for the storage, collection, transportation, processing or reuse, conversion or disposal of solid waste." "Solid Waste" is defined as "garbage, refuse, sludge, from a water supply treatment plant or air containment.treatment facility and other discarded waste materials .... " In addition to the above definitions, I have reviewed the definitions of "Refuse", "Rubbish", "Solid Waste" and "Solid Waste Collection" as defined in Minnesota Rules 3 6035.0300; the definition of "Recycling" and related terms as defined in MSA 115A.03 and the definitions of "Waste Facility" and "Waste Management" as defined in the Metropolitan Council's Waste Management Guide. "Solid Waste" is defined in part as garbage and refuse. "Refuse" is defined in part as rubbish and rubbish is defined as paper, cardboard, tin cans, glass, etc. In my opinion, application of the above term definitions to the proposed CUP requires that the proposed use be termed a Solid Waste Management Facility under Ordinance 90-5. This opinion is reached, of course, by use of the Ordinance as written. I am aware that certain members of the Planning Commission believe that the proposed use should not be classified as a Solid Waste Management Facility as the material which would be brought in will be recycled for another use and is therefore not solid waste. My reading of the definitions cited above, however, leads me to believe that those items are still considered solid waste, even though they will be processed or recycled into another use and not discarded. There simply is no other written ordinance or statute language which allows me to conclude otherwise.