Authority identifies $17,000 in disputed Clean Earth charges; Recology financial report reviewed

Assistant Director Seymour told the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority that a review of the Clean Earth invoice for the annual household hazardous waste event uncovered about $17,000 in charges the authority determined were outside the contract scope.

“Assistant Director Seymour found $17,000 of inappropriate charges,” staff reported; the authority rejected those charges and proceeded to complete payment for the event after Clean Earth adjusted the invoice, staff said.

Seymour also told the board that, overall, the authority’s experience with Clean Earth has been better than prior contractor Clean Harbors, which historically required lengthy billing disputes and difficult communications. “As soon as I brought it to their attention, they solved it,” a board member said during the meeting.

Finances and revenue: staff presented a cash report showing roughly $2.8 million in the authority bank account and about $198,000 shown as last month’s rent; staff said two main revenue sources — transfer station service fees and franchise fees — were running ahead of budget and, together, were about $116,755 ahead of budget at the time of the report.

Recology Del Norte: Staff also reviewed Recology Del Norte’s annual financial report, noting the company transferred a little over $1 million to its parent company during the year — roughly $500,000 less than the prior year — and said the report is a transparency check given Recology’s significant role collecting solid-waste dollars in the county.

Operations and compliance: staff said they are conducting a five-year permit review of the Del Norte County transfer station with EVA Engineering and that animal-control removed three dogs that had been loose in the facility’s scrap wood area. Staff reported a violation from one inspection for litter around recycling drop-off bins and described a stepped-up cleaning strategy involving Recology, county staff, Hambro WSG and local volunteer efforts.

Recycling drop-offs: Recology moved two recycling drop-off bins in the Greater Smith River area to a single fenced location across from the Community Services Building that is open dawn to dusk. Staff said they continue to pursue adding a cardboard-only container at that site; Recology previously said none was available at the time of the prior discussion.

Organics/State rules: staff attached notes from the first community planning meeting held with the Del Norte and Adjacent Tribal Lands Food Council to discuss compliance options for SB 1383 (referenced in the meeting record as “SB 13a3”), the state law that requires jurisdictions to manage organic materials to reduce greenhouse gases. The meeting was described as the first in a series of roughly six planning sessions.