City Has No Power on Dump Closure

By Jeff Tucker, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Jun. 5–The city of Pueblo washed its hands of any responsibility to keep the South Side Landfill open when it sold the operation to Zupan Industries in 1991.

While Zupan scrambles to prepare a new cell at the landfill, and complaints about illegal dumping grow both inside and outside of the city limits, City Manager Dave Galli said the city has no responsibility to ensure that Zupan keep the landfill open, nor is it required to ensure that Zupan meets its environmental mandates in a timely manner.

The city signed a purchase agreement with Zupan in 1991, making the landfill a private operation, but requiring public access.

But the closest the agreement comes to making a requirement that there be no interruption in service is language relating to the closure of Phase 1 of the landfill, which happened shortly after Zupan took control of the facility 17 years ago.

The agreement stated that Zupan was required to immediately begin work to prepare either Phase 2 or Phase 3 for solid waste disposal and that one of those cells be ready by July 1, 1991. Mike Zupan told The Pueblo Chieftain last month that his company has spent the past year digging the new cell and planned to have it open before the current one was full.

But the closure of the Broadacre Landfill sent more trash to him than he expected and delays in getting the state permits for the new cell forced the closure, he said.

The landfill closed May 17.

State health officials told The Chieftain that Zupan received a permit to start work on the new pit four years ago but they said they were also waiting to hear a report from Zupan on the cell preparation before dumping could start.

Galli said the city looks at the landfill with the same considerations as any other private business.

The health department is involved with permit requirements and the environmental impact of the dump. The planning department is involved in ensuring that the dump is an acceptable use for the land according to the city’s land use code and the finance department is involved in the collection of sales taxes.

But that’s as far as the city’s oversight of a private business will go. "There was no requirement in the agreement, not only for Zupan but for any private business, that they stay open," Galli said. "It’s not the city’s obligation to ensure that private businesses get their permits taken care of on time."

Galli added that he isn’t sure how the city could have crafted such a requirement into the purchase agreement with Zupan.

There is language in the agreement that gives the city an opportunity to buy the property back if Zupan ceases operations completely, but that hasn’t happened.

Restaurants are one thing, but a landfill that has provided cheap access to the public for decades is another. Galli said the city recognizes the benefits of having a landfill open to the public and city officials have noted that its temporary closure may be contributing to a jump in illegal dumping in the city.

But there are other options for people to dump their trash, Galli said.

People can take their waste to a transfer station and pay more in tipping fees than they would at the landfill, or they can bite the bullet and sign up with a private trash hauler.

Galli also noted that there hasn’t been any problems with the landfill for the past 17 years.

"I think people have become accustomed to driving out there and dumping their trash, but there’s still a mechanism to get rid of your trash and that’s to hire a trash service," Galli said. "I think we have become accustomed to a luxury and right now, and I hope, temporarily, we don’t have that luxury."

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

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