ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9702030027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
Pulaski Town Council has made its concerns official over a proposed agreement to expand the New River Resource Authority.
Council passed a resolution urging veto power by each member jurisdiction over adding future members and taking solid wastes from localities outside the NRRA. It also suggested user agreements to control transportation routes and methods by other jurisdictions sending wastes to the new NRRA landfill, which will be located in Pulaski County.
Supporters of the agreement say the veto power already exists.
The NRRA currently includes Pulaski County, the town of Dublin and city of Radford. The town of Pulaski is not a member but does have an agreement with the NRRA allowing trash from town citizens and industries to be collected and deposited in the same way as in the county.
The proposal to expand the NRRA would add Montgomery County, Virginia Tech and the towns of Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
Some Dublin council members have objected to the agreement because they were not represented in its negotiations, dating back almost a year. Radford Mayor Tom Starnes and Pulaski County Supervisor Jerry White represented the existing NRRA members in the negotiating process.
Another major objection is the agreement's membership allocations on the NRRA board: three members each from Radford, the Montgomery County members and the Pulaski County members. Pulaski County and Radford now each have two members and Dublin, two. Some county citizens want Pulaski County and Dublin to continue having a majority between them because the new NRRA landfill will be in Pulaski County.
NRRA board representation was not addressed in the resolution by the town of Pulaski. That resolution asked only that each locality have veto power.
The resolution commended Pulaski County and Dublin for developing the new landfill and using land-use regulations to control what types of solid wastes may be placed in it.
Pulaski Town Council passed the resolution at a special meeting Thursday night, prior to the quarterly joint meeting between the county Board of Supervisors and two councils.
The proposed expansion agreement would reduce trash disposal costs for each ton of solid waste buried, and allow a combined effort on recycling wastes. Giles County was also to be considered for addition to the NRRA, once the Montgomery County localities had been approved.
All three current NRRA members would have to approve the expansion. A "no" vote by any one could kill it. So far, only Radford City Council has approved it.
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