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Ada County adjusts solid waste budget after $2.6M leachate hauling cost; designates director for EPA RNG certifications
Summary
After an unusually large leachate event, Ada County approved a $2,582,581 adjustment to its solid waste budget to cover hauling costs and authorized the solid waste director to certify renewable gas quality for a new RNG pipeline project that may generate about $1 million a year in royalties.
Ada County commissioners on Aug. 26 approved a mid-year adjustment to the solid waste budget after staff reported that unusually high leachate volumes last winter required off-site hauling that cost roughly $2.8 million. Solid Waste staff said about 6,000,000 gallons of leachate stored in ponds approached capacity, forcing off-site disposal to protect health and water quality; the board approved using enterprise fund revenue (tipping fees) and adopted Resolution 3119 to transfer $2,582,581 to cover the expense.
Solid waste staff said engineering assumptions in the 2005 basis-of-design documents appear low compared with recent real-time data; Jacobs Engineering is re-evaluating modeling to better predict future leachate volumes. Commissioners and staff confirmed the cost will be covered by enterprise revenues rather than property taxes.
The board also adopted Resolution 3120 to designate the director of solid waste management as the county's responsible corporate officer to sign and submit EPA-required documentation for the county's renewable natural gas (RNG) pipeline project. Procurement explained the RNG project (commissioned in May) sends biogas to a third-party operator that upgrades it to pipeline-quality gas sold into the Intermountain Gas pipeline. County staff estimated net royalties of roughly $1 million per year from gas sales and said the EPA requires monthly certification that gas delivered to the developer is renewable gas of the stated quality.
Motions to adopt both resolutions carried by voice vote. Staff reported ongoing engineering reviews and said they will return with updated modeling and any recommended operational changes.
