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Show An infectious waste plant is not likely on Sugar Drive By SCOTT SUMMERILL LAYTON-Twin Peaks Cove developers de-velopers proposed a site for a Medical and Infectious Waste Incinerator In-cinerator in Layton on Sugar Drive, but Layton City officials voted last Monday, Feb. 12, to hold any action until more information can be gathered. Layton City Planner Fred Aegerter said the proposal was virtually vir-tually dismissed by the council based bas-ed primarily on the location of the proposed site. "They were told they would never get approval from the appropriate ap-propriate agencies," he said. in the area," he said. "We're a public pub-lic entity. So, we're more concerned with serving the public and ensuring ensur-ing their safety than a private enterprise enter-prise would be." An autoclave looks much like a giant boiler, according to Bitter. Medical and infectious material is deposited into it, and steam is introduced in-troduced until the temperature reaches between 250 and 300 degrees. When the material has been subjected to the heat long enough to completely sterilize the contaminants, the waste is moved to the burn unit and incinerated The Layton facility will serve all of Davis County and, if there is a he said. "It's probably the most intense in-tense heavy manufacturing and industrial in-dustrial classification we have." Carter confirmed the proposal as a backup plan if the North Salt Lake plant is defeated, and indicated the Layton site would not be realized for some time even if the North Salt Lake location falls through. "Right now it's more or less a backup plan," he said. "It would take quite a while for the plans to get through the process." Layton City Councilman Jerry Stevenson said the Sugar Drive plant has very little chance of getting get-ting off the ground. 'I can almost guarantee this ' 7 can almost guarantee this won' t be built here. There's too much opposition." Jerry Stevenson won't be built here," he said. "There's too much opposition." Stevenson, who is a partner in the company that owns the property, said the developers approached his partners after plans to build on another an-other site fell through. He went on to say his involvement with the property had nothing to do with its selection. "I'm a partner in a business that owns some property, and that prop- CONT. ON PG. 3 Aegerter said the site is more of a contingency plan in case the proposed pro-posed facility in North Salt Lake falls through. The North Salt Lake plant is being be-ing planned and, if approved, will be built by Browning Ferris Industries In-dustries (BFI). The company has built other infectious waste facilities in the East BFTs Utah district manager, John Volpi said the North Salt Lake site is the company's preferred location. loca-tion. The Layton site, according to Volpi, is not even being considered by BFI. However, the company did send a representative to the city meeting to provide information on volumes of waste, emissions, methods of waste handling and other aspects of waste disposal. "(Twin Peaks Cove developers) had contacted us to see if we would be interested," Volpi said. "Our number one pick is North Salt Lake, and we're sticking with them. We attended the meeting for informational informa-tional purposes only." Director of the Davis County Bum Plant, LeGrand Bitter, said the proposed plant is impractical considering con-sidering the bum plant will be providing pro-viding the same services by the end of March when the facility gets its autoclave on line. "Layton already has one facility need and the plant has the capacity, waste from surrounding counties. All that remains before the autoclave is brought on line is approval ap-proval from state authorities, which Bitter said should come by the end of March. "It will cost about $105,000 total,' ' he said. ' 'Those monies are already raised and earmarked for the facility." Once operation begins, the autoclave is projected to raise around $200,000 per year. "The only things we won't handle are pathological and body parts," Bitter said. "Those will be handled by mortuaries and cremated or buried as is appropriate. ap-propriate. Right now all infectious waste is either being destroyed on site or shipped out of state. ' ' Bitter also indicated location as a detriment to the proposed plant on Sugar Drive. "The area down there has property prop-erty that's very attractive to residential residen-tial development," he said. "We don't have that problem here with the planes (from Hill Air Force Base) buzzing over us all the time." Layton City Planner Scott Carter disagreed with claims that the waste incinerator would interfere with residential development of the area. "That area has an M-2 zoning," Waste plant not likely CONTINUED FROM PG. 2 erty is for sale," he said, "(City officials) knew right up front about my involvement with the property. There was nothing going on under the table." The public's misperception of medical waste plants and how they operate is the biggest obstacle facing fac-ing this type of development, according ac-cording to Stevenson. 'You say the words 4 medical waste' and people react without finding out more about it," he said. 'With all the restrictions put on (medical waste facilities), I'm not so sure they wouldn't make good neighbors." The developers, Twin Peaks Cove, were unavailable for comment. |