Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Waste Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Beaver County staff propose petitioning to add three landfills after RFP deadline missed
Summary
County staff told commissioners that three landfill operators missed an RFP deadline to join Beaver County’s disposal plan; staff recommended using a petitioning process to include them as a regulatory footnote rather than reissuing the RFP, noting contracts for current contractors expire in June.
Beaver County staff told the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 10 that three landfill facilities missed the county’s recent request for proposals for disposal capacity, and proposed a petitioning process to add those operators to the county plan rather than reopening the RFP.
The most immediate concern, staff said, is continuity of service: current contracts expire in June. Speaker 3 said Republic did not submit an application and WM did not include required backup facilities in its submission, leaving the county without those options in the plan unless the board acts. "No public notice is required," Speaker 3 said of the petitioning route, adding that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has accepted petitioning in other counties.
Speaker 3 described the county’s existing “menu plan,” created under a prior director over the last decade, which allows haulers flexibility to choose landfills. Restricting available landfills would require a different regulatory approach. "It's not a matter of space," Speaker 3 said; the risk is where waste would be hauled if a facility were excluded.
Commissioners and staff asked clarifying questions about why the facilities missed the deadline; Speaker 3 said Republic had difficulty obtaining corporate information to complete the lengthy application and WM omitted backup‑facility information, and expressed a belief the omissions were inadvertent. Speaker 1 said they were comfortable proceeding with staff’s recommendation to allow the petitioning process and to rely on the solicitor’s legal guidance.
Board members discussed next steps and consent for staff to initiate the petitioning process with the affected landfill operators and to document the petitioning as a footnote in the county plan. The board did not take a recorded vote during the public session; staff said the approach should avoid regulatory complications and provide a way to include the operators before current contracts lapse in June.
What happens next: staff will proceed with petitioning outreach to the identified landfill operators and return to the board if there are legal or procedural complications that require formal action.
