Press Release Concerning Landfill Siting Agreement Compliance
The Town of Holland has recently raised objections to two issues pertaining to the Brown County South Landfill. The first concerned the County’s attempt to modify its Plan of Operations to allow it to use contaminated soils for “beneficial” purposes such as daily cover or building road base rather than bury them safely in the landfill. The Town and its residents raised many concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of that proposal and expressed those concerns at a DNR public hearing held last month. Brown County has since abandoned its attempt to modify its Plan of Operations in that manner, a decision that the Town fully supports.
The Town also served the County with a Notice of Claim documenting its claim against the County for what is now over a million dollars in “tipping fees” that the County has failed to pay the Town despite being required to do so under the Landfill Siting Agreement in effect between the parties. This amount has accrued over the course of more than three years even though the County knew of the Town’s claim at the time of the first landfill payments back in 2022. The County has incorrectly asserted that “beneficial use” wastes are exempt from the tipping fee payment even though there is no exemption for them in the Landfill Siting Agreement, and even though the County’s own attorney apparently notified the County that there is no language in the Landfill Siting Agreement to justify the nonpayment. The County links its nonpayment decision to DNR fee exemptions; however, those exemptions only apply to fees paid to the DNR, not fees paid to the Town (which are governed exclusively by the Landfill Siting Agreement, as confirmed by DNR staff attorneys). Despite all of this, Brown County continues to profit unjustly by charging waste haulers to accept these wastes into the Landfill while not paying the Town its share.
At the December 17th County Board meeting, Supervisor Devon Coenen introduced the attached “communication,” which explains the circumstances above and urges the County Board to adopt a resolution issuing backpay to the Town and committing to pay the Town correctly in the future.
The Town anticipates that this matter will be referred to committee and expects that it will then be brought back before the full County Board in January for action.