Sunrise landfill cleanup raises question of fairness about who pays for it

Commissioner Susan Brager doesn’t talk a lot during Clark County Commission meetings, but the former School Board member is diligent about doing her homework. She’s been plodding through a two-inch stack of documents trying to figure out the complexities of the Sunrise landfill cleanup, something few ponder in their spare time. She’s struggling with a question of fairness.

Is it fair for residents who live in unincorporated Clark County to have to come up with an extra $28 million to finish cleaning up the landfill? Why do those who live in the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas not share the costs? (Henderson already agreed to pony up.) After all, both city and county residents used the landfill until it closed in 1993. Everyone’s waste contributed to the dangerous situation that forced the landfill’s closure to avoid polluting our water. Cleaning it up benefits everyone.

Truly, the amount per household is not huge. At 28 cents per household per month for 10 years, the cost would be $3.36 a year, less than $34 over 10 years. But the proposal now on the table is that 158,000 households in unincorporated Clark County would pay it; city residents wouldn’t.

Another twist: Silver State Disposal Service in 1999 (before it was purchased by Republic Services), agreed to clean up the landfill for $36 million in exchange for a contract that extended their trash pickup monopoly for another 15 years until 2035. Why isn’t Republic picking up the extra costs?

Isn’t a deal a deal? Not in the world of contract lawyers.

There is language in the contract saying if $36 million doesn’t cover the landfill cleanup costs, the trash company could come back and ask for more. But there’s also language saying Clark County is not required to pay more.

The 28 cents a month surcharge to unincorporated county residents sounds picayune, but Brager believes it’s the principle of fairness. Bob Coyle, president of Republic Services of Southern Nevada, said Friday it’s not Republic’s fault that more money is needed for the cleanup. He stressed the money isn’t going into Republic’s coffers, it will go to the county to pay the cleanup bills. But if you believe Republic should pick up the cost, that’s irrelevant.

Coyle said the county holds the lease for the landfill, and that’s why the county and not the cities are responsible to pay for the cleanup. His perspective is that if the county wants the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas to ante up, county officials need to negotiate that; it’s not Republic’s job.

The issue was supposed to be on Tuesday’s commission agenda, but was yanked off after it became clear this wasn’t a done deal.

Brager was the first to question the inequity of the funding proposal. But Bruce Woodbury said he has a lot of questions, too, especially since Boulder City residents never used the Sunrise landfill because they have their own. Why should they pay?

And why should Laughlin, Logandale and Mesquite residents pay for the landfill they never used.

“I don’t think the unincorporated residents should have to pay the full amount,” Woodbury said, predicting this may end up in court.

County Manager Virginia Valentine said she pulled the agenda item because Brager and Woodbury weren’t the only ones with a lot of questions.

On paper, the county and Republic are on one side and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is on the other. The agency named the county and Republic when it ordered the cleanup of the landfill.

Although the landfill was closed in 1993, a huge flood in the area in 1998 created the environmental safety issues that threatened our water supply, sweeping waste from the landfill into the Las Vegas Wash. The U.S. Justice Department entered the fray in 2002.

Under the agreement pulled from Tuesday’s commission agenda, my boss, who lives in a county island, would pay more than I would, since I live in the city of Las Vegas. So would another 158,000 households in the county.

Susan Brager was the first commissioner to question the fairness of that, based on principle. Clearly this quiet new commissioner isn’t just a button-pusher who relies on well-paid lobbyists to figure out what to do.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.