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

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43 landfills will be shortened by more than one year. This would result in the need to develop new landfills earlier than expected. On the other hand, continuing open burning of diseased trees over the 10- to 30-year llfe of the shade tree epidemic may increase air pollution, reduce the Region's capacity to absorb pollution from regional growth · t and development, (AND) jeopardize attalnmen of federal air quality standards, and continue to be a nuisance source to neighboring resl dents. Open bur~eV--~r~ tun' o--~ tre-----~ ~ r~eases about 17 pounds of particulates and 50 pounds of carbon monoxide into the air. However, without self-supporting resource recovery, open burn- ing may be the least costly disposal option. The cost per ton for tree waste disposal at open burning sites that comply with MPCA permitting criteria depends partly on the number of trees burned per day. Sites that burn many trees per day will have lower per ton disposal costs than existing landfills or facilities handling only a few trees per day. Resource Recovery Substantial savings in energy and/or fiber may be realized by recovering wood waste. The lumber, pulp and paper industries have long recognized the energy value of wood waste and have used it to help meet their own energy demands. The energy value of one ton of wood waste is approximately half that of an equivalent amount of coal. Moreover, the neglible sulfur content of wood fiber makes it attractive as fuel supplement by contributing energy while helping to keep stack emissions within sulfur standards. Recovered wood fiber may also be used for pulp and paper manufacturing, provided recovery produces a chip which meets manufacturers' specifications. Chip specifications may vary depending on the intended product. Clean chips used in manufacturing higher grades of paper are generally more valuable than chips containing bark and residues. Reliable equipment which produces from the larger tree waste material marketable chips is available commerc~ly. Developing resource recovery systems for tree waste disposal is time- consuming (HOWEVER) and requires dependable markets, sound financing, reliable technology and adequate wood supplies. (NOTWITHSTANDING) Such prerequisites are, however, considered to be currently avail- able or achievable in ~h~ Region. Wood fiber market assessments indicate that a demand currently exists and appears to be sufficient in all but the worst years to consume projected quantities of (TREE WASTE) logs. Markets for chips produced from brush are less certain and this material ~ay have to be burned unt--~ st--~e-~r]~ develop. Nevertheless, ther--~ ~ a demand for the production and sale of wood chips, saw logs, landscape mulch, fuel supplement and fire- wood. Because many of these markets are currently supplied from other sources, marketing success will be governed by the availabil- ity, dependability, price and quality of the recovered wood fiber. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Metropolitan Inter-County (COUNCIL) Association, and the Metropolitan Council have favored disease tree management strate- gies that emphasize use of wood fiber. While wood resource recovery systems are developing, landfilling and open burning should continue to serve regional tree waste disposal needs.