Northwest Hills COG affirms support for public ownership of Torrington transfer station; urges towns to join new regional authority

The Northwest Hills Council of Governments on July 10 voted by consensus to continue providing technical and legal support for the Northwest Regional Resources Authority’s effort to keep the Torrington transfer station in public hands and urged member towns to join the NRRA by passing concurrent ordinances.

Executive Director Rob reported that, effective July 1, permitting for regional waste operations transferred to the NRRA and that the former managing entity (referred to in the meeting as the MDA) has ceased operations. Rob said hauler agreements needed revision before the transfer of authority and that the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is currently operating the facility. The COG’s prior budget includes a $25,000 line for MSW technical and legal resources; staff asked the council whether to continue using those funds to support NRRA-startup work and related legal review.

The issue matters because the transfer station is a permitted, operating facility that serves multiple small towns across Litchfield County. Council members and town officials said losing public control could lead to the site being sold to a private operator and to service disruptions or higher costs for member towns.

Discussion and context

Council members described a complex, short-term transition that culminated in DAS taking day-to-day control on July 1. Rob and other participants said there was a “flurry” of activity in the days before the handoff to update and return hauler agreements; some agreements were returned but revised versions drafted by DAS had not yet been provided to the COG staff for review. The executive director recommended continued follow-up and, if necessary, use of Freedom of Information requests to obtain those revised agreements.

Multiple participants urged towns that may ultimately use the NRRA to join now. Rob explained the governance mechanics: voting rights on the NRRA board will be determined by concurrent ordinances that member municipalities adopt. Staff also emphasized that future decisions about operations, recycling programs and shared regional services will be made…