Residents press council over Curbside Waste plan to expand transfer‑station services

The Dayton City Council heard a concept presentation Thursday from Curbside Waste on plans to seek an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) that would allow the company’s transfer station to accept municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, recycling and residential organics in addition to yard waste.

Planning staff said the facility began operating in April 2025 under a 2022 conditional‑use permit for yard‑waste transfer and that the EAW and solid‑waste permitting steps are separate state processes managed by the Environmental Quality Board and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Staff said an EAW and related reviews typically take 12–14 months to complete and that any changes requiring a local ordinance amendment and a new CUP would follow that state review.

Matt Herman, chief operating officer of Curbside Waste, described day‑to‑day operations and the firm’s mitigation steps. “Every day that we have operated, we have cleaned the tipping floor every night, and we have everything loaded in trailers, covered, transported, and ready to go,” Herman said, adding the company conducts routine fence‑line pickup and is prepared to develop a litter‑prevention plan and additional housekeeping measures.

Still, residents and several council members pressed for clearer compliance and safety guarantees. Betha Jacques, who lives directly across from the facility, asked how the city will “ensure the requirements of the Minnesota ambient air quality standards are being consistently met,” and cited observed odors near other regional transfer stations. Fred Heim, another neighbor, flagged truck traffic, hydraulic fluid leaking from vehicles and the potential for sprinkler runoff to reach nearby French Lake.

Fire and building safety also emerged as a central concern. The city’s fire representative said the council’s review had uncovered that “we do have an issue out there, with no sprinkler system within that structure at the moment,” and noted staff planned to work with the company and the building inspector to resolve the fire‑suppression question.

Council members repeatedly noted the distinction between the concept presentation and any formal approval. Planner staff said the concept plan hearing is an early step intended to collect feedback and that any addition of new waste streams would require an EAW plus an amendment to local zoning and a separate CUP application. Staff also said the city intends to institute annual inspections of conditional‑use permits where possible.

Council discussion focused on several recurring points: whether the facility had conformed to the original 2022 CUP (some council members and residents said it had not), whether doors and a sprinkler system should be required, traffic routing to limit neighborhood impacts, and assurances about litter control and rodent/pest management. The applicant offered to organize facility tours for council and staff and to pursue equipment and operational changes suggested by neighbors and the fire department.

No formal council vote was taken to expand the facility’s permitted waste types; the council provided feedback and directed staff to continue enforcement actions for any existing CUP violations, to work with the applicant on safety and mitigation measures, and to track next steps in the state EAW process.

What happens next: the applicant may file an EAW with the state (a process staff said typically takes about 12–14 months), the MPCA will conduct permitting and inspections if the EAW proceeds, and any local ordinance or CUP changes would return to the council for formal action.