Officials delay incinerator decision

Public will have two more chances to ask questions, voice concerns

Frederick’s commissioners voted Feb. 26 to ask Carroll to join them in building a trash incinerator, what industry officials call a ‘‘waste-to-energy facility” because it burns trash to generate electricity.

Assuming Carroll generated 600 tons of trash per day, a shared incinerator in Frederick would cost Carroll $140 million to build, compared to $200 million to build one alone,

Carroll commissioners first said they needed until April 11 to decide, but would now like to hold two more meetings before they take a vote. Neither is scheduled yet as of The Gazette’s Wednesday press deadline.

One evening meeting would give the public information, featuring the commissioners, Public Works staff, Environmental Advisory Council and representatives from the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority, an independent state agency.

The second meeting would allow people to comment about the proposed partnership with Frederick, said Chief-of-Staff Steve Powell.

Commissioner Dean L. Minnich (R) of Westminster said the board needs to make a decision soon.

‘‘We can’t sit back and talk this to death,” he said. ‘‘At some point we have to fish or cut bait.”

Commissioners’ President Julia W. Gouge (R) of Hampstead said the offer from Frederick is great, but she has reservations.

‘‘I’m very much concerned that what we would have to put into waste-to-energy and the size we would have to make it is way too much,” she said. ‘‘I’m concerned about hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on this and having to go in debt.”

She added she would like to see if the size of the incinerator can be reduced.

Gouge added she would also like to see if the county could contract with Frederick to haul trash instead of being a partner — similar to what the county did when it hauled its trash to York, Pa.

Commissioner Michael D. Zimmer (R) of Eldersburg said that move would allow for some flexibility if newer technology comes along for an incinerator, but the disadvantage would be higher tipping fees.

‘‘To me it’s more of a palpable solution to pursue the offer,” he said.

But Carroll County is not the only one interested in taking that approach.

Baltimore and Washington counties expressed interest to haul their trash to the incinerator, said Michael G. Marschner, director of Frederick County’s Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management in a prior interview with The Gazette.

Because their landfills have reached capacity, Frederick and Carroll counties haul their trash to landfills in Virginia. Frederick and Carroll officials say this is not a reasonable solution because it relies heavily on other jurisdictions and the costs can vary widely.

Staff Writer SherryGreenfield contributed to this report.