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Howard County Council adopts amended solid waste management plan
Summary
The Howard County Council voted unanimously to approve Council Resolution 1 43 20 25 as amended, updating landfill timelines, correcting statistics and removing a reference to a pay-as-you-throw program; the measure adds a three-year design/construct timeframe for final landfill cells and new action items.
The Howard County Council voted unanimously to approve an amended solid waste management plan on final consideration, passing Council Resolution 1 43 20 25 as amended.
The resolution, as amended, clarifies statistics and dates in the county's solid waste plan, removes references to certain state goals, corrects numerical errors, adds a three-year period for the county to design and construct the landfill's last cells or identify an export location when the landfill nears capacity, and adds action items at the end of the plan. An earlier amendment had added but was later revised to remove language referencing a 'pay-as-you-throw' program.
Councilmember Miss Sager, who summarized the technical changes, said: "Amendment 1 to council resolution makes some technical changes to the solid waste management plan. It clarifies statistics, clarifies dates, removes references to state goals, corrects numbers. It adds that the county would have 3 years to design and construct the last cells at the landfill or find another export location when the landfill nears capacity. It adds action items at the end."
After the amendments were adopted, Councilmember Deb Young offered remarks thanking staff and outside stakeholders. "I just would like to thank my council colleagues for agreeing to table this resolution in July and allowing not only myself but DPW and particularly Mark DeLuca and the Sierra Club to work on the amendment," Young said. "...the extra time and the attention that the solid waste management plan was given as a result of what occurred in July."
The council approved (1) Amendment 1 to Amendment 1; (2) Amendment 1 as amended; and (3) Council Resolution 1 43 20 25 as amended. Roll-call votes on the amendments and final resolution recorded Chair Liz Walsh, Doctor Jones, Deb Young, and Councilmember Dave Youngman voting in the affirmative on the amendments and final measure.
The plan sets a sequence of technical updates and near-term actions for the county's Department of Public Works and other stakeholders; the approved language gives the county a three-year planning and construction window for the landfill's final cells or time to secure an export solution once capacity nears. The council removed an earlier reference to a pay-as-you-throw program during amendment negotiations.
The measure passed on final consideration and the council adjourned the legislative session afterward.
