Escambia’s Garbage Showdown

The Escambia County Commission made moves today meant to block the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority from following through on a waste-disposal contract with a private company that’s looking to turn trash into marketable fuel. At the same time, commissioners decided to continue assessing the county’s own waste-to-energy efforts and possibly pursuing similar ends if feasible.

“With our landfill, we can do it all, but don’t go off and do your own thing and leave us in the blue,” said Commissioner Wilson Robertson.

Last week, the ECUA board approved moving ahead on a 15-year contract with Southern Waste Recovery. Proponents paint the move as green and economically-advantageous.

Critics charge that SWR’s technology is in its “infancy,” and contend that the ECUA is about to violate local ordinances that mandate waste be disposed of at the Perdido Landfill. Chief among the critics are Escambia County officials; the county stands to lose  millions annually in tipping fee revenues, as well as revenues associated with the methane production at the landfill.

Interim County Administrator George Touart told commissioners this morning that without the tipping revenue generated from ECUA’s hauls, the county would not be able to afford to keep the landfill open without dipping into the general fund.

“They are dangerously close to costing the taxpayers a lot of money,” he said. “And a lot of money trickles over to millage increases.”

During today’s special meeting, the commissioners decided to impose a nine-month moratorium on launching waste-to-energy operations and also arranged to have such operations contingent on commission approval in the future. The board also decided to explore alternative waste-to-energy options and contracting with the private sector in such endeavors.

Initially, it looked as though the commission would also be moving forward with legal action to request an injunctive relief to prohibit ECUA from delivering solid waste to SWR, and also to seek a declaratory judgement validating the county’s position. In an effort to get commissioners Grover Robinson and Lumon May’s support, such legal action ended up being tethered to EUCA actually commencing operations with SWR.

The commission also addressed a recent U.S. Department of Justice investigation that detailed a number of issues at the Escambia County Jail. County staff, as well as Commission Chairman Gene Valentino, plan to continue discussions with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in an effort to address the DOJ’s concerns; they have 42 days to present a plan forward to the DOJ.