Agenda - Council - 06/23/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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require much greater capital investmentS in land and on-site improvements to protect the environment and ensure safe operations, although total costs are not yet known. Furthermore, there are fewer large tracts of relatively inexpensive land available. Proponents of new sanitary landfills may have to compete with other land users, such as industries, for suitable locations at increased costs. To meet the Region's solid waste disposal needs, new landfills are likely to be at least as large as, or larger than, the largest existing landfills. The size and operating life of new landfills will depend on the amount and type of land that can be acquired, and the relative efficiency of the land disposal system. To amortize capital investments in equipment, on-site improvements, and environmental protection measures, the operating life should be at least 10 years. The staged redevelopment of completed portions should occur as soon as possible. When municipalities built and operated major resource recovery facilities in the past, the primary incentive was to dispose of waste by reducing its volume. Energy and materials recovery was secondary. However, energy and materials recovery is becoming as important as waste disposal. Resource recovery may be an economic boom or bust to a community. It may mean a long-term solution to solid waste problems and a source of industrial materials and energy products, or it could mean a long- term economic and environmental burden to the community. (THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL WILL CONDUCT STUDIES TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL MARKETS, TECHNOLOGIES, AND LOCAL AND REGIONAL CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR MATERIALS AND ENERGY RECOVERY FROM SOLID WASTE IN THE REGION.) The 1980 Waste Management Act (WMA) requires the metropolitan coun- ~-~s to identify ~ landfill sites for.~ of mun~ipa~tes s--~d-~aste and demolition waste. The Council ~ ~.tne s}= a__--~rt---~a..~.etropolita9 inventory of eligible alsposal slte~. ~ ~ratori~-~ ~lll then be ~mposed on future development at the s~tes. This siting process s~-6uld be completed by the e~.n~ ~f 1981~ ~q %9~, t-~'counties w'~u~-~-~r~-~osals to the Council on ways they mlgn~ decrease the need for landfills. These proposals will identify ~ recycling and resource projects that c_~an be.u?q~ed to ~ for landfil-1-~ng. The abatement proposals will De ~ Dy t-~ C--~C~--to prepare a lon--~-range regional plan that identi~es feasible abatement--~ect~ves, pro]ects and act~vltles for eac ~ Based on the amount of recovery and recycling t--~t can be achieved as ~-~e~-~i~-I~d in the Council's plan, the Council will then determine t~he amount.of landfill s~.ce ne~es~ry_an~ adop~._a~e~ for developing ..~.~l-Is bY the countles.*~ ~ ~ .a~ ~n~ ~,~,= %-~e, the Council will r_~.ort to the Legislative commission o__n ~as=e ~e~--~ ~--~ e1-~is--~ion ~-~ ~a~_~e ~eeded to implement its regional abatement plan.