Daleville council OKs longer solid waste contract

The Daleville City Council agreed to sign a seven-year contract with the Southeast Alabama Waste Authority at the meeting Feb. 15.

The contract is two years longer than the previously contract signed in May 2017.

At the Feb. 1 meeting the council tabled a decision on signing the contract that was brought to the Daleville City Council by SWSWDA Manager Dawn Ivey at a work session held the evening before.

The Southeast Alabama Solid Waste Authority is a public nonprofit corporation organized in March 1993 for the purpose of providing solid waste management services for Houston, Henry, Geneva and Dale Counties and some 30 individual municipalities in those counties and Eufaula in Barbour County.

Ivey told the council at the work session Jan. 31 that the authority was created in response to federal legislation requiring every county and city in Alabama to develop and adopt a comprehensive solid waste management plan. “In 1992, the federal Environmental Protection Agency mandated that all solid waste be put in a lined landfill,” Ivey explained. “The Wiregrass area did not have a lined landfill and it was too expensive for each city or county to build one. These were times of great stress for county and municipal officials.

“’Many governments had, for generations, operated unlicensed landfills, commonly known as ‘city dumps,’’ she added. “A new and very large challenge faced all government entities concerning the disposal of solid waste.”

When the authority was formed, one of its purposes was to control the costs of solid waste disposal for the four counties and individual municipalities in those counties. “We are a not-for-profit entity and we exist to meet our finances and serve our members,” Ivey said.

The first contract was for 20 years and expired in 2012. Since then, members have renewed contracts twice for five year terms each. “When the authority was created, six of the cities and counties became the founding members and guaranteed the debt so the transfer stations could be built and operations could begin,” Ivey said adding that the founding members were Dale, Geneva Henry and Houston Counties, the cities of Ozark and Eufaula.

In 1993, transfer stations were built in Dale, Geneva and Henry Counties. “The solid waste is loaded into a trailer through a compaction system and then hauled to a lined landfill,” Ivey said. “We were initially going to build our own landfill but that did not work out so we signed a contract with Coffee County Landfill to haul all the waste to them.

“We were able to negotiate a lower price based on the amount of tonnage brought to the landfill. This is where we really benefit by the cities and counties working together,” Ivey said. “Each one on their own would not have enough tonnage to qualify for a discounted rate but all of them together does.

“Some of our members have compared the cost of going to the landfill themselves and have come to the conclusion that it is more cost effective to use the transfer station because it minimizes wear and tear on their trucks, saves fuel and labor costs,” she added. “In 2015, discussion began about replacing the compaction system at our transfer stations with tipping floors. The compaction equipment is over 20 years old, outdated and hard to find replacement parts for. In 2017, a new tipping floor was built at our Dale County locations which allows the trucks to get in and out much faster.”

The initial debt has been paid off and the authority is building new tipping floors at the SWSWDA facilities in Geneva and Henry Counties. “And the financial institutions are asking a longer commitment from the authority members which is the reason for the seven-year contract, Ivey explained.

The next meeting of the Daleville City Council is March 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the Daleville City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting is open to the public.