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County updates: landfill permit modification, construction change orders, compost-permit work and grant efforts
Summary
Polk County heard staff updates and approved change orders and professional services tied to landfill construction, composting permit modifications and grant opportunities (including EPA SWIFR). Staff also sought permission to demo and potentially purchase equipment under state grant awards.
Polk County received multiple solid-waste updates Dec. 3 covering permit modifications, construction closeout activity, grant applications and equipment purchases.
Permit modification and compost facility: County solid-waste staff described a long-running permit modification process with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to update plans for the county compost facility and to permit off-site use of composted material. Staff said the MPCA had indicated multiple drafts were under review and that the county has revised plans repeatedly since 2020; staff noted the county is still waiting for final MPCA approvals and expressed concern about the timeline and whether comments would be released for public review before issuance.
Landfill construction and change orders: Staff reported that the new landfill construction reached substantial completion in September, with seeding and other final items scheduled for next spring. Commissioners approved two change orders (materials contract and installation contract) to reconcile measured quantities and bring contractor payments current; amounts cited were described as small relative to the multi-million-dollar project total and were approved by voice votes.
Compost operations and equipment: Staff outlined the county’s need to finalize testing protocols and certifications to market compost product off-site. Because plan approval would enable off-site sales, staff requested permission to send the landfill supervisor to an out‑of‑state compost operations and certification conference in Phoenix in late January; the board approved the travel request.
Professional services and grants: The county approved a professional-services agreement with an engineering/consulting firm (up‑north engineering) to administer two awarded MPCA solid-waste projects (a $2.8 million combined scope) for about $30,240. Commissioners also approved a resolution supporting a regional application (led by Hubbard County) to the EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) program; Polk County’s share of the regional package was modest and the county sent a letter of support.
Equipment demo and procurement: Staff said one grant-funded piece of equipment (a payloader or similar loader) may be available for on-site demonstration and requested permission to accept a demo unit and consider purchase pending the demo; commissioners gave staff consensus to proceed with a demo and noted purchases would follow grant procurement rules.
Ending: The board approved the change orders and professional services agreement, supported regional SWIFR grant efforts, and authorized staff travel for compost-certification training. Staff will continue to engage with MPCA on the permit modification and to bring any contract purchases back to the board for final approval as required by state grant procedures.
