Opinion ID: 774507
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Utica Transfer Station Operating Agreement

Text: 25 In 1991, the Authority accepted bids for the operation of the Utica Transfer Station. The bidding process was open to all private waste disposal companies, in-state and out-of-state. The Authority received four bids, all from out-of-state businesses, which proposed delivery of the solid waste at the transfer station to eight landfills, seven of which were located outside of New York. 26 In June 1991, the Authority entered into a contract with Empire Sanitary Landfill, Inc. (Empire) to operate the Utica Transfer Station. Pursuant to that contract, Empire transported all solid waste processed at the transfer station to Empire's landfill in Taylor, Pennsylvania for disposal. The Authority agreed to deliver or cause to be delivered all solid waste generated or originating in the Counties (other than recyclables and waste burned at the Energy Recovery Facility) to the transfer station. The parties extended the contract to span the period 1995 to 1998. 27 In 1998, the Authority again accepted bids from private waste disposal companies. This time, Waste Management of New York (Waste Management), a Delaware limited liability company, prevailed. Waste Management agreed to dispose of the waste processed at the transfer station at two facilities, one located in-state and the other located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Waste Management continues to operate the transfer station on behalf of the Counties. 28 In the May 20, 1991 Final Local Solid Waste Management System Plan for the Counties, the Authority contemplates the development of additional facilities to provide for all components of the waste stream for all residents of the two counties (emphasis added). The Authority expressly states in the Plan that it is wholly committed to the development of facilities within Oneida and Herkimer Counties toprovide for the region's long-term needs. In other words, the current out-sourcing of the transfer station's operation is a temporary measure until the Authority brings into operation a County landfill, the last of the six facilities contemplated in the original environmental plan, and is otherwise able to meet all of the Counties' solid waste management needs. 29