Cobb County weighs restarting Sutton incinerators as landfill costs rise; water director to retire in January

Commissioner Eric Allen introduced a second topic near the end of the episode, asking about a Sutton wastewater-plant incinerator project that county staff are moving into the design phase.

Judy Jones, director of water, said the county previously shut down incinerators at the Sutton plant after air-permit requirements tightened and upgrades would have been costly. "We actually turned them off quite a few years ago, when the air permit requirements got more stringent and it was going to be expensive to upgrade them," Jones said. (00:08:35)

Jones said disposal costs for biosolids have risen and landfill capacity is tightening, making on-site incineration more attractive despite large up-front costs. "Now it's a lot more expensive to send it to landfill. This everywhere's running out of places to send it to biosolids to landfill. So starting up these incinerators, it's gonna be a big upfront cost. But over the long term, we're gonna get that money back, and this is gonna be a much more efficient way to handle biosolids," Jones said. (00:09:15)

Allen also acknowledged and thanked Jones for her long service; Jones said she will retire in January after about 31 years with the county and plans to remain a Cobb County resident. "I have worked here for 30 years and lived here for over 30 years. So, Cobb County is my home and I will continue to live here and support this county even through retirement," Jones said. (00:09:56)

What remains unresolved: Jones described the project as being in the design phase and did not provide a construction schedule, cost estimate or permit timeline. No formal board action or vote on the incinerator project was recorded in the conversation.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified from the episode recording and include direct verbatim excerpts where noted.