Friday, 21 December 2007 01:44

New Permit Proposed For Western Amador Recycling Facility

There will be an informational meeting on January 3rd regarding Permit revisions requested by the Western Amador Recycling Facility at the Buena Vista Landfill. The meeting will provide a forum to allow interested parties to learn more about the proposed permit and provide comments to the Department of Environmental Health. Currently, municipal solid waste from this transfer station is disposed of at Forward Landfill located in San Joaquin County. The proposed revisions would address the changes required by the recent closure of the Buena Vista Landfill, and the increased volume of wastes handled through the transfer station. The waste stream growth rate has been estimated at approximately 6.7% per year.

The proposed permit will allow the increase of operating area and tonnage to more than double the current limit -- from 152 tons per day to 333 tons per day. The facility currently operates on 2.145 acres, which will increase to 5 acres. Traffic to the recycling facility could increase due to a request for an increase in maximum vehicle count and longer hours of operation. However, the plant’s Operations Manager William Smith, said their current permit is 12 years old and there are no plans for extending their services to new customers.

He also said they want to have greater permitted capacity so that they would not need to turn away customers due to outdated capacity limits. The facility currently serves most of Amador County and parts of El Dorado County. The facility has been inspected and approved for the revised permit. If you wish to learn more about the proposed permit or make comments, you can review information at the Environmental Health Department located in County Administration Center at 810 Court Street, and at the Amador County Library in Jackson. Written Comments must be received by LEA no later than December 28th to allow adequate time for research and processing. The informational meeting will be held on Thursday, January 3rd, at the County Administration Center, 810 Court Street, Jackson, in the Board Chambers.