Agenda - Council - 05/31/1983 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Council reviews any proposed ordinances or restrictions using cri- teria contained in its solid waste policy plan (pages 59 and 60). The review is done to ensure the operation of the regional solid waste management system is not adversely affected by a-local ordinance° How- ever, the Council should provide sample ordinances for local regulation of solid' waste disposal facilities. Following is a discussion of the potential impacts of landfills and resource recovery facilities on the host community. INCREASED TRUCK TRAFFIC AND ROAD MAINTENANCE Operating a sanitary landfill or resource recovery facility in a commu- nity will increase the number'of trucks on the community's roads. If the road leading to a facility is a state, county or state-aid highway, the additional truck traffic would have a negligible impact on the local com- munity because it's a small percentage of all traffic on those routes. If all or a portion of the route is a municipal or township road, however the impact is much greater. Municipalities should not have to pay to upgrade roads for a facility that benefits the entire Region. The county or owner of the waste facility should assume responsibility for the imme- diate access roads to the waste facility~ including the costs of upgrad- ing to the necessary.weight limit. In addition, the county or waste facility owner shall compensate the local unit of government for extra- ordinary road maintenance costs incident to facility use. NUISANCE IMPACTS--NOISE, LITTER, RODENTS A certain amount of noise is associated with any sanitary landfill because of equipment and trucks entering and leaving the fill area. The noise impact is generally limited to the hours of operation and depends on the proximity of homes, schools, and other institutions adjacent to the facility or truck route. It also depends on the sensitivity of people adjacent to the noise source and the level of truck maintenance and upkeep. Noise from a landfill can be reduced by the design and size of the buffer zone. Similarly, noise at a resource recovery facility will depend on the amount of truck traffic. Noise can be controlled by locating the facil- ity in an industrial area and away from noise-sensitive land uses. Fur- thermore, most resource recovery facilities, particularly waste-to-energy plants, are inside buildings, which reduces noise levels from the facility. Scattering litter and debris or blowing sludge ash are associated with the day-to-day operation of a landfill. Scattering and blowing will be influenced by wind speed and direction, the amount of waste uncovered, the type of cover material and the local topography. It can be a problem .I I I I I I I I I I I I I i i I I I I