While Inyo people try to keep the main needs of life going – jobs, food, cars, houses – State government laws and local decisions seem to mean less service at a higher cost. Right now, the Inyo Supervisors have plans to once more make changes at County landfills.
Deputy County Administrator Pam Hennarty said the CalRecycle Division of State government notified Inyo that the County is under review for not enough “diversion of waste”, which means recycling. In a year’s review, Inyo has to make improvement or eventually face big fines like $10,000 per day, Hennarty said.
In response to the State review, Hennarty said the County wants to separate green waste and hopes the County’s two haulers will offer the option of a green waste can. Hennarty said the Board of Supervisors did approve 
requiring haulers to offer a smaller can for less money that would mean reduced waste to landfills.
The County has raised rates for bringing cut up tires to the dump. Gate fees that used to include construction materials and yard waste in one truck will go up from $14 per yard to $50. If the materials are separated, there will be no cost increase. Hennarty said the County wants customers to drive to the various locations at the landfill and separate types of waste. If they don’t, the rates will be higher.
The $5 gate fees used to cover 3 cubic yards of trash. Under new regulations the fee will cover 1 cubic yard or 5 32-gallon cans compared to the previous 15 32-gallon cans.
Gatekeepers also ask where trash came from and will start to go to actual trash piles to see if customers are disposing of materials properly. Under the Supervisors’ proposals, dumps will remain open fewer days. Bishop would go from 7 to 5 days per week. Big Pine and Independence would be reduced to 2 days per week; Lone Pine – 3 days per week, and the County would eliminate the roll-off bin for Olancha and Keeler. Hennarty said this schedule would save the County more than $250,000 per year.
While other County services do not run on a cost/ income basis, the County wants to run the dumps this way. Hennarty also said officials looked at the smaller dumps as 15 miles from another dump which would allow use of a second landfill if needed. Hennarty believes people in the towns “will adapt” to the changes which will take effect around May 1st. The County will hold more information meetings before then.
The threat of a ten thousand fine a day is just a way of justify the large fee increases that are other wise unjustifiable. I see nothing here about having to hire more employees or adding expensive equipment. Besides they all ready make the little people drive to separate places… Read more »
Don’t forget that a half-cent of the sales tax is supposed to go to the dumps. Instead the City of Bishop gets like $300,000. Why not vote to take back that money instead of closing the dumps, Board of Supes?
http://www.inyocounty.us/SalarySchedule/
maybe a LITTLE FAT could be cut here…….say starting with the supervisors pay…
Cut A LOT of FAT. Carunchio talks out of both sides of his mouth, smiles at you while he shakes your hand and with his other hand, he steals your wallet. He should be the 1st one cut. He’s always working every angle for personal gain and his greasy hands… Read more »
I know! I totally expect someone to clean up my mess too.
I’m entitled to lots of government services, but I shouldn’t have to pay for them.
That’s fascism!
I see my sentiments concur exactly. Shut the landfill down on certain days, Charge large fees. Have vast open areas to dump and you create the perfect opportunity for illegal dumping. GREAT WORK PAM! Boy am I glad you are gone from my town. Good luck If you were smart… Read more »
Much illegal dumping will follow, even thought we are all nice boys and girls.
and Law Enforcement ,already burdened , will be tasked to apprehend perps who will deposit their waste, soil the lands. The Courts will be overburdened as 395 the conduit for jury trial justice . There’s always hidden expenses unanticipated yet borne that accompany change. Mandated instructions from Sacramento, Washington DC… Read more »
Dear government, Come on, this is a basic service. What exactly do you do for the tax money you receive? What will your dump workers do with the rest of the week? Are you creating any jobs, or just eliminating them? It looks to me like you are killing Independence.… Read more »
If your trash is picked up once a week as required by the state health and safety code, it will still be picked up and disposed of at the landfill. The hours of operation of the landfills are open will not change this.
Not everyone has trash service. Many of us haul our own trash, and this sort of thing affects us. I don’t have an issue with more recycling, but the fee increases and shutdown days are a going to cause problems. I could swear this is what our taxes pay for.
You can pay the cost to operate a landfill through your property taxes as some counties do, or you can pay it at the landfill in the form of a tipping fee as many other counties do. If costs go up, would you not expect tipping fees to also rise?… Read more »
Inyo County received some type of exemption that allows them to divert 29% of the landfill waste, apparently because of the small, rural nature of the area.
BK
That is an incomplete statement. Non-compliant Local Enforcement Agencies, or LEAs, of which Inyo County Department of Environmental Health Services is one, are required under AB 939 to submit to the state formal plans by which they promise to achieve the required 50% diversion rate over a period of years.… Read more »
AB939, which had previously required diversion of 50% of municipal solid waste into recycling programs by 2010 was amended in 2012 I believe to require the diversion of 75% of all municipal solid waste into diversion programs by year 2020. What is driving this is the cost and difficulty of… Read more »
Guess what Inyo is not facing that problem, why do we have to change our behavior because of the problems of the city? Can you imagine that I come to your house and tell you what you should eat, drive or who you should marry?
It is a state wide problem. Actually it is a problem common to the entire developed world. Owens Valley is not excluded. You will complain bitterly about the siting of solar infrastructure in the Owens Valley. How about more or larger landfills? What about their effects on the aquifer and… Read more »
How can some of these restaurants in town not get dumped on the days the landfill is closed? We are a tourist town, what happens at Mule Days…should we just leave that trash piling up on the streets because the landfill is closed? Where are the restaurants and motels supposed… Read more »
I didn’t see any calculations as to what it is going to cost BLM, USFS, and DWP to clean up when people start dumping on their land, to avoid the fees and hassles.
If you’re unhappy with dump fees and feeling hassled the appropriate place to dump your stuff isn’t on Forest Service or BLM land. You dump them on the County seat or at City Hall.
Don’t bother to calculate, Joe. The trash that will most definitely be dumped on public lands will not be cleaned up by DWP, BLM or USFS…it will be picked up by ordinary people like you and me. I feel that people need more incentives for recycling like free bins and… Read more »
More of your tax dollars at work, expect an increase in dumping on open lands. There are a lot of people that just can’t afford to even pay to throw out the trash.