| Show 4A Sunday May From Page One 72000 Standard-Examine- Experts debate effectiveness of burning trash Islamic r HEWS BRIEFS By TRACY L GUSSON Bunt LAYTON It’s a system Jim Jones of Waste Management of Utah calls a “last resort” in managing municipal waste: incineration a costly magnet for litigation legislation and public derision Sandard-Examna- r aste-to-ener-gy Davs - - - - When area solid waste districts charge well under half what Wasatch Energy Systems charges member cities for residential waste removal by shipping trash to an East Carbon landfill why does the Davis County garbage district continue to maintain and invest in its incinerator the last in Utah? “In places where you have no land landfilling is the cheapest option transferring waste to a regional landfill is your next choice” said Jones Waste Man agement's business development director “ W is by far the most expensive it takes a lot of maintenance draws a lot of fines If they sitnply closed down and landfilled rates would drop significantly” According to a 1995 study pre-pared for Wasatch Energy by Roy F Weston Inc upgrading the Layton incinerators to meet emissions standards would main- tain their average tonnage rates at S7814 some 35 times what - - Salt Lake County municipalities pay for residential waste disposal But in a similar scenario factoring in the closure of the waste-to-ener- gy plant rates would plummet some 36 percent to a foreseeable S5018 per ton Wasatch Energy director Bitter calls the Weston study “old news” one the company’s board of directors had Le-Gra- nd “dealt with and decided did not deal with qualitative factors” Stuart Cowley manages the Utah County Solid Waste District where disposal of a ton of residential waste costs cities $2850 and is promptly shipped to the East Carbon Development Corp- According to Cowley the bum plant operators have been “fighting for their lives as long as - I’ve known them” Wasatch Energy has been cited three times in as many years for alleged violations of Utah’s dioxin emissions limits and currently faces an activists’ suit in federal court seeking $27500 per day per violation and potential closure of its incinerator Cowley says he sympathizes with the problems faced by Wasatch Energy and agrees that landfilling in East Carbon - or “mummifying a big bag of trash in the desert” - isn’t a positive long-tersolution “But burning just-- creates a whole new set of problems" said Crowley “problems that are insurmountable” You can reach reporter Tracy “I can run my transfer facility with equipment operators and spotter laborers and process 190000 tons of waste a year” Cowley said “They process the same amount there but they have to hire engineers have a lot of sophisticated equipment that needs to be “In addition to some pretty stiff capitalization costs they’ve been out of compliance with air Clisson at quality permits and face stiff m fine-tun- ed 776-495- 1 or Garbage “Basically Davis County taxes every homeowner $10 a month just for the bum plant then they tax every commercial user” says Jones business development manager of Waste Management of Utah “As a result Wasatch n situation Energy has a When people look at cities and see exorbitant rates they need to know where those rates origi- In Weber County according to solid waste official Karlene Linford cities pay $2950 per ton of municipal waste In northern member cities Utah County-1and the county pay just $2850 a ton for solid waste removal - a win-wi- nate” Bitter calls the bum plant and its adjoining landfill “the most advanced in Utah Everyone knows our rates are higher but fee that’s remained stable for seven years “It’s always amazed me they could get away with it" says Stuart Cowley manager of the Utah rt we have a landfill convert waste to energy and are a net pollution producer in the state-of-the-a- County Solid Waste District “Our politicians would never vote for an $80 (per ton) fee” community” Classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a “high priority violator” Wa- Wa- satch Energy Systems operates the bum plant with two incinerators in north Layton burning garbage from Davis and Morgan counties and providing steam energy to Hill Air Force Base Through steam sales house- officials agree Wasatch Energy’s hefty rates can be traced to its bum plant an environmental nettle that supplies just 5 percent of Hill’s steam energy “They’re running a more ex- lined landfill - they haven’t spent the millions we have to line a landfill capture leachate and treat it” Bitter said “They don’t have to spend millions in capital to meet the standards the' EPA dictates to them” hold use commercial container use and other sources the garpensive operation” Groshocki bage district earned revenues of said of the equipment operators 1999 million in Its $167 nearly Jim Jones a resident of Bounand air quality fines associated 1999 reported assets stand at with the tiful - the lone Davis municipalifacility nearly $43 million didn’t join Wasatch EnerLeGrand Bitter director of ty that Like Margaret Groshocki understands what such gy Wasatch Energy says the quality differences mean: $9 for waste republic information officer for Salt of his is source the of moval of two containers in his operation Lake County Solid Waste -which charges its cities an area the district’s higher prices front yard and $19 for the same low of $22 per ton - many local “The Bountiful landfill is not a two cans in front of his daugh- waste-to-ener- satch Energy skirted two years of alleged state dioxin level viola- tions through a March closed-door- s agreement with the Utah Division of Air Quality That agreement is currently under review by the EPA The bum plant is also facing a lawsuit filed last d envimonth by a Salt ronmental group ordering the company to comply with state emissions standards or face an Lake-base- injunction You Glisson More CIA employees may be disciplined - WASHINGTON Inquiries into lax computer practices by former CIA Director John Deutch could result in reprimands or stronger action against a widening number of present and former senior CIA officials intelligence officials hard-line- rs hurt in elections TEHRAN Iran - Iran’s said Saturday re- In addition to a new Justice Department criminal investigation into the 1996 security breach the officials said a pres- - of the 66 seats formers won 52 contested in legislative elections the nation’s largest party said Satursetback for Islamanother day run-o- ff cy idential advisory panel criticized - ic hard-line- fighting change rs - was held three The run-omonths after allies of Iran’s reformist president won 70 percent of the seats decided in the first round of voting for the Majlis or parliament results stand If the run-othe reformers will have enough seats to easily control the ff ff 290-memb-er ter’s North Salt Lake home - serviced by Wasatch Energy From 1A expense is one cities like Layton - which has tapped its general fund for three years in an effort to avoid such a rate increase - are forced to pass on to residents A special service district fines Those of us at regular landfills don’t have to worry about air quality problems" can reach reporter Tracy 1 or at 776-495- parliament for the first time since the 1979 Islamic rev- olution The reformers would also be in a position to grant greater social freedoms and weaken grip on key hard-liner- s’ institutions But the Deutch's successor George Tenet and other agency officials last week for inordinate delays before Deutch they acted Steps to reduce listeria poisonings announced WASHINGTON - The government will require companies that churn out hot dogs and cold cuts to test their plants for the deadly listeria bacterium President Clinton announced Saturday The goal is to reduce listeria-cause- d illnesses by over five years While poisoning fewer people than pathogens such as salmonella Listeria monocytogenes is estimated to kill 500 one-ha- lf hard-line- rs have shown they won’t give up willdeingly: Since their first-roufeat on Feb 18 they have un- leashed a crackdown shutting down 16 reform newspapers and arresting top liberal activists The hard-lin- e Guardians Council which oversees elections annulled a dozen reformist victories from the first round The Council also is yet to endorse the results in Tehran where reformers won 29 of the 30 seats Philippine troops find headless bodies ALIPAO Philippines -on Troops patrol near the former stronghold of a group of hostage-takin- g Muslim rebels made a grisly discoveiy Saturday: two headless bodies buried in a shallow grave The corpses were the first evidence that the Abu Sayyaf reb- els actually beheaded two of their Filipino captives as they had claimed last month Soldiers near the former rebel camp in southern Basilan province spotted the grave and dug up the two headless male bodies The dead men's hands were tied said Col Fernando Bajed of the army’s 103rd r xi Americans a year and sicken 2000 more A third of the cases involve pregnant women and their babies experts say The plan is one of a series of food safety initiatives the administration has promoted recently from eggs to genetically altered foods as Clinton seeks to burnish his legacy as consumer protector The proposals may not take effect until after Clinton leaves office in January and still could be blocked Game jackpot eclipses record mark Big ATLANTA - How much bigger can the Big Game get? It depends on how much money people spend on tickets - and on whether anyone wins Tuesday’s drawing The multistate lottery's jackpot has ballooned to a record of more than $300 million since Friday when no one picked all six numbers drawn The largest US lottery prize was $2957 million set two years ago in a multistate Powerball game that was won by 13 machinists from Westerville Ohio -- The Associated Press am erne Columbia Ogden Regional Medical Center is ranked among the top percent of hospitals in the nation - receiving Five Star ratings from Healthgradescom for excellence in: Cardiology Obstetrics PulmonaryRespiratory Services Established in 1946 by the Sisters of St Benedict Columbia Ogden Regional Medical Center continues its tradition of high quality compassionate health care f- -1 x health grades COtll The Healthcare Rating Experts’ against Hwffl'zradwconi is an independent national rating firm that provides iefonsatinn to consumers ts help then select tbs best inafity hospitals pkysidans ani feealtli ptaos ’ |
