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Dakota, Ramsey and Washington Counties <br />Ramsey and Washington Counties have a joint -powers agreement to implement waste <br />processing facility to service both counties. The proposed locations of these <br />facilities are such that they could easily service the waste generating area of <br />northeastern Dakota County. A significant portion of the waste generated in <br />the northern and eastern portions of Dakota County is within minutes of pro- <br />posed locations for a wate processing facility to serve Ramsey and Washington <br />Counties. Furthermore, there are indications from Ramsey and Washington Coun- <br />ties that the proposed processing facility will be oversized or be amenable to <br />modification for processing additional wastes. In addition, these counties <br />should capitalize on the opportunity to experiment with co -compost because of <br />the close proximity to MWCC wastewater treatment plants. <br />Carver and Scott Counties <br />Carver and Scott Counties sho,id cooperate together because most of the waste <br />generated within the two counties is serviced by one landfill. The major areas <br />generating waste, Shakopee, Chaska and Chanhassen, for both counties are <br />located within relatively close to each other and are connected by major <br />highways. In addition, neither county by itself generates sufficient <br />quantities of wastes to implement but the smallest of modular combustion <br />units. Cooperation in implementing a joint waste management system could <br />reduce overall transportation and processing costs. <br />Carver and Scott counties should consider establishing waste processing facili- <br />ties to serve the counties. It is important for each county to establish con- <br />venient locations for transfer of mixed waste and recyclables from drop-off <br />locations to processing facilities. The counties should evaluate potential <br />energy markets in the Shakopee and Chaska and Chanhassen area. The counties <br />should also evaluate the potential for composting their waste with sludge pro- <br />duced at the Blue Lake Treatment Plant. Sludge processing equipment has not <br />yet been installed at the plant, which means equipment modifications could be <br />made to accommodate composting activities. <br />A potential market for incineration of RDF is NSP's Black Dog electrical genera- <br />ting facility or its facility in Mankato. Other potential energy or RDF mar- <br />kets may exist in the industrial areas near Shakopee, Chanhassen and Chaska. <br />Barriers to Implementation <br />There are potential barriers that may have to be overcome to implement central- <br />ized processing in the Metropolitan Area. These barriers include siting, empha- <br />sis on private sector involvement and markets. Probably the most significant <br />barrier is siting. <br />The location of sites for waste processing facilities and transfer stations is <br />difficult. Like landfills, people who live near proposed facilites object to <br />the facility being located in their neighborhood. Public I,�alth and property <br />value impacts are often cited as major concerns. <br />The legislative emphasis on private sector involvement has slowed the process <br />down. The private sector will not make investments in resource recovery with- <br />out certainty that.the waste will not continue to go to land disposal facili- <br />ties. A resource recovery system cannot compete on price with the existing low- <br />cost system emphasizing landfills. <br />SF <br />