Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 3, 1993 TAG: 9303030211
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DEVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
FLOYD BOARD TO SEND TRASH OUT OF COUNTY
Despite protests from many Floyd County environmentalists, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday night to haul its garbage out of the county rather than keep it at home.The decision came after Vice Chairman Jerry Booth made a motion to "transport the waste out of the county for a short term," and construct a transfer station "to support more recycling."
The motion was seconded by board member Etzel Duncan. Duncan, Booth and board Chairman William Whitlock voted in favor; Supervisors David Ingram and Howard Dickerson voted no.
"I'm not saying taking the trash out of the county is a bad decision," Dickerson said. "But it's a little premature. . . . We shouldn't surrender our independence based on soft numbers" - cost estimates by engineering consultant Lynn Croy of Draper-Aden Associates.
"I would much rather see us do it on hard numbers after we've had five or so years of experience."
Whitlock called it "the hardest decision I've ever had to make as a board member."
Nine members of the Floyd Environmental Action Team were at the meeting. The organization has been in favor of keeping the county's trash at home while increasing recycling efforts to lengthen the life span of the current landfill.
"It's a lack of courage on [the board's] part," group spokeswoman Isa Graefe said. "Basically, they bowed to [County Administrator] Randy Arno's leadership rather than their constituents' judgment or their own judgment."
Graefe said her group now would work on continuing to upgrade recycling efforts and "back up whoever is hired to do that job, and get public education going."
"I think maybe our plans will be to try to replace Randy Arno, too," she added.
In 1989, board members were faced with the same decision but decided to keep their trash at home. This year, however, new Environmental Protection Agency regulations forced the board to re-examine that decision.
The board has until the end of March to make other decisions associated with shipping the county's trash elsewhere, which trucking company to use to haul the waste and which landfill to use.
Three trucking companies have submitted bids - Blue Ridge Disposal Inc. of Christiansburg, Sea Weed Trucking of Floyd and Thompson Trucking of Richmond.
The Amelia County landfill near Richmond, a Fort Chiswell landfill and the New River Resource Authority responded with bids for waste management.