Waste To Energy

The Carroll commissioners plan to appoint a committee consisting of environmentalists, trash haulers and others to study the possibility of building a waste-to-energy plant in the county.The committee, expected to be named within the next few weeks, will return to the commissioners within the next year with a recommendation on waste incineration as an alternative source to landfilling for trash disposal."It's something we want to get on right away," said Commissioner Elmer C. Lippy. "This is a very initial phase.

Carroll's Waste-To-Energy committee yesterday began studying whether the county should build an incinerator.Some 20 of the committee's 25 members attended the 90-minute meeting, in which the commissioners reiterated the group's charges. These include:* Considering short- and long-term environmental issues related to incinerators and landfills.* Examining legal and regulatory issues.* Comparing the costs of continued landfilling with a combination of burning and landfilling.* Considering whether an incinerator would serve only Carroll or a number of counties.

A garbage drop-off station in Carroll County would be more economical than an incinerator, a representative of one of the country's largest developers of waste-to-energy plants said yesterday.Haulers would deposit trash at the station, and the trash would be transported out of county to a waste-to-energy plant, said John E. Joyner, a business developer at Ogden Projects Inc. of Fairfield, N.J.The county does not generate enough garbage per day to operate an incinerator, he said. Carroll generates about 300 tons per day; at least 500 tons would be needed.

CONOY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- On his third tour of a waste-to-energy plant in 14 months, Carroll Commissioner President Donald I. Dell said he's convinced that the technology should be integrated into the county's future solid waste management plans.Mr. Dell, county government officials and four county Environmental Affairs Advisory Board members visited the Lancaster County Resource Recovery Facility and a nearby landfill Friday to learn about that county's comprehensive solid waste management system.

If all the capital projects proposed for Carroll County's Northern Landfill were actually built, there could be a serious crowding problem. After all, just about every NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard") project proposed in Carroll seems destined for the popular dump.Aside from being one of the two county landfills, the northern site, which is just east of Westminster on Route 140, has been eyed by the three Carroll commissioners and others as a future home for a new detention center, a waste-to-energy plant, a recycling center and a large-scale yard waste composting plant.

Commissioner Donald I. Dell has provided Carroll County with rTC his vision for the future -- something his two colleagues have failed to do. He believes the county's future hinges on fostering business and industrial development in Finksburg with the help of two major public works projects -- extending Interstate 795 from Baltimore County into Carroll and building a waste-to-energy incinerator at the Northern Landfill.Mr. Dell's plan doesn't conflict with his campaign slogan -- "Keep Carroll country" -- as much as it might seem.

Bartlett, Gilchrest Reining In 'Great Society'I wish to commend Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett and Wayne Gilchrest for their May 12 vote for an amendment, offered by Rep. Joel Hefley (R.-Colo.), to the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Reauthorization bill (HR 2442).The amendment, had it been adopted, would have eliminated a scandal-ridden, pork-laden creation of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society." Presidents Reagan and Bush had sought its elimination. President Clinton, however, is seeking to increase funding.

Two of the three Carroll County Commissioners say they continue to consider incineration an option for getting rid of the county's trash, even though a citizens committee recommended against it last summer.The commissioners took a step toward deciding on future trash disposal methods, voting unanimously Tuesday to ask composting and incineration companies to submit details about how they would operate in Carroll."Every company that's out there is going to get a fair shot at making a proposal," Commissioner W. Benjamin Brown said.

Carroll County commissioners are scheduled to be updated this morning on a plan to join with Frederick County in building a waste-to-steam facility that eventually could save both counties millions of dollars but which has drawn opposition because of environmental concerns and large upfront costs. Carroll Public Works Director J. Michael Evans will present the commissioners with a status report on a proposed facility to be constructed in Frederick County that could offset county's needs for dumping trash in landfills or transferring waste to neighboring states.