Residents question Fairfax officials on potential incinerator purchase

By Timothy Wilson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 5, 2011; 12:12 AM

There's a lot of trash talk going on in Fairfax County - and for good reason.

The county has a chance to exercise an option to buy a waste-to-energy incinerator in Lorton for more than $400 million. Or it could do nothing and let its current agreement with New Jersey-based Covanta Energy expire in five years.

Residents who attended several information sessions on the issue this week raised some key questions - one of which was simply, "What's in it for us?"

According to county officials' estimates, owning the incinerator could reduce costs by between $130 million and $660 million over the next 30 years.

Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) said the potential savings should be considered when making long-range plans for handling the county's waste.

"We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars at stake," said Hyland, whose district is home to the facility.

More than two dozen of Hyland's constituents who attended an information session Thursday at South County Secondary School seemed to be skeptical about buying the incinerator.

Some remembered how the county's Board of Supervisors approved the incinerator's construction over their objections in 1986.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Federation of Lorton Communities to overturn a decision that said the District of Columbia, which owned the site at the time, had the right to use the property as it pleased.

The I-95 Energy/Resource Recovery Center, which opened in 1990 and sits on 23 acres in the southeastern part of the county, has four furnaces that process about 3,000 tons of garbage a day and typically produce about 80 megawatts, enough electricity to power 72,000 homes.

The electricity is sold to Virginia Dominion Power, with the county receiving 90 percent of the proceeds. Covanta receives the remaining share, and it could negotiate an increase if the county does not buy the facility.

Hyland, who initially opposed the construction, said many of the environmental concerns residents brought up years ago have not been realized.

"We have not had any adverse environmental impact. All in all, I think we've had a good arrangement with the facility," he said.

Now, the issue for some county residents and business leaders appears to be spending money on a facility already paid for.

Construction of the facility was funded by the county through the sale of $252 million in bonds, for which the last payment was made Tuesday. The bonds were paid off with revenue received from the waste disposal fees at the incinerator.

The original service agreement between the county and Covanta called for the company to own and operate the facility. However, the county retained an option to buy it once the debt had been paid.

The current proposal to buy the incinerator would require the sale of about $417.5 million in revenue bonds.

A public hearing will be held Feb. 22. Supervisors must decide by April 4.

County Executive Anthony H. Griffin, who recommended buying the facility last month, said using revenue bonds in the deal would not obligate taxpayers.

He said ownership would allow the county more control of operations and keep trash-hauling costs at a minimum for residents and businesses.

Jim Corcoran, president and chief executive of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, said that although most residents pay below-market rates for trash collection, some are concerned that fees could increase.

"There's a lot of assumptions and facts used that we believe are not set in stone and probably will end up costing Fairfax County residents more," he said.

An increased emphasis on recycling in the county has decreased the amount of waste generated by residents. Collections have fallen by about 15 percent since the economic downturn began.

Last year, Fairfax agreed to take in 200,000 tons of residential garbage collected in the District. Hyland said that if Covanta maintains ownership, it could control how much trash is processed at the facility without regard to where it comes from or how it gets there.

"If we don't purchase or own the facility, the owner could decide where the trash could come from," he said.

David Biderman, general counsel for the National Solid Wastes Management Association, a trade association, said the county doesn't need to own the facility to control where trash comes from. He called the idea of purchasing an incinerator with a declining waste stream "puzzling."

"No waste-to-energy facility has been built in 20 years. It'd be like buying a factory that makes propeller airplanes in 1961," he said. "This is buying something just as it's being replaced. It's contrary to the trends we see all over the country."

Biderman, 47, a Vienna resident, said the purchase could create a disincentive for county residents to recycle. He said an increase in tipping fees for waste management companies could loom if solid waste streams continue to decline.

"I truly believe this is going to adversely affect my pocket," he said.