Carroll County Chamber of Commerce

Position Statement on Waste-to-Energy Facility

Adopted July 21, 2010

  The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce has conducted a thorough review of the proposal that Carroll County build a regional Waste-to-Energy facility with Frederick County. The proposed WTE facility would be developed by an independent State agency that has previously developed such facilities in Maryland, and the firm that would build and operate the facility has been doing this successfully for 35 years. WTE facilities in the U.S. are regulated by federal and state agencies and are proven to be environmentally safe. In addition, the proposed facility would reduce the County’s dependence on electricity generated by the burning of fossil fuels, and would increase recycling in the County.  

The Chamber has determined that the cost projections of the facility are sound, and is impressed by the fact that proceeding with the WTE project would save Carroll County a minimum of between $23 million and $230 million over a 30-year period compared with waste disposal costs if we do not proceed with the project. Not building the facility would almost certainly mean a new landfill in the County, and the Chamber agrees that the process that would establish the location of the new landfill would be a very contentious one. Finally, the WTE project would bring significant economic benefits to the region. For all of these reasons, the proposed Frederick/Carroll County Renewable Waste-to-Energy facility appears to be in the overall best interests of the County, its businesses, and its residents, and the Chamber strongly supports the project. 

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 Carroll County has been studying the waste disposal issue and considering its options for managing waste disposal since 2004. After a great deal of research, a tour of waste management facilities in Europe, and a number of public information meetings, the County’s Department of Public Works (DPW) recommended developing a regional Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility with Frederick County as a viable long-term, cost-effective, and environmentally safe way to satisfy the County’s waste disposal needs. 

This recommendation appeared to have taken into consideration all significant aspects and possible consequences of the proposal to build a WTE facility with Frederick County, and was approved by the sitting Board of County Commissioners. 

Attractive features of the DPW recommendation include the fact that the WTE facility would be a clean, renewable source of energy that would reduce the County’s dependence on electricity generated by the burning of fossil fuels, and the projection that it would recover approximately 15,000 tons of ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals annually that are not recovered through current recycling programs. 

The cost projections of the WTE facility are based on the experience of other jurisdictions that have built such facilities and appear to be sound. The construction cost and operating cost of the WTE facility are guaranteed by the vendor. While the projected costs of the WTE facility are admittedly large, the projected costs of not building the facility are larger.  

The 30-year projections for Carroll County are $600 million in total waste disposal costs if we proceed to build a WTE facility; $623 million in total waste disposal costs if we do not build a WTE facility and are able to continue dumping waste in Pennsylvania; and $830 million in total waste disposal costs if we do not build a WTE facility and must dump our waste in Virginia.  

The out-of-state dumping cost projections are based upon the rates we are currently being charged by Pennsylvania and Virginia, rising only with inflation. If either state decides to raise the rate it is currently charging for waste brought in from out-of-state, the costs of not building the WTE facility would be higher. And in the event both states decided to discontinue accepting waste from out-of-state, we would have a very serious situation on our hands.   

It would therefore cost Carroll County a minimum of between $23 million and $230 million more in total waste disposal costs over a 30-year period if we do not proceed with the WTE project. 

In addition, not building the WTE facility would almost certainly require the building of another landfill in Carroll County, and the planning for that landfill would need to begin soon. The decision regarding a location for another landfill would without a doubt be preceded by a very contentious period in the Carroll County community, and it is highly likely that the site ultimately chosen would not be the most practical site for another landfill or the most economical to manage. 

Although Carroll County’s share of the capacity of the proposed WTE facility would be more than needed to accommodate the County’s trash for some time, the County would be able to sell any excess capacity to neighboring jurisdictions.  

The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority (NMWDA) would develop the proposed WTE facility on behalf of Carroll and Frederick Counties. The NMWDA is an independent multi-county State agency that serves the waste management needs of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, and Montgomery Counties and Baltimore City. The NMWDA would also finance the construction of the facility, and the financing method (project revenue bonds) would not impact the County’s debt rating. 

The NMWDA has previously developed WTE facilities in Montgomery and Harford Counties and Baltimore City. These WTE facilities operate under stringent emissions limits developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment. 

Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., the proposed WTE project vendor, has been building and operating WTE facilities since 1975, and now operates 17 such facilities plus five independent power production facilities in the United States. Wheelabrator’s WTE facilities are sophisticated power plants with state-of-the art emissions control systems, operated by certified professionals.  

WTE technology is about 50 years old, continuously tested, and constantly improving. There are 87 WTE facilities in the U.S. alone at this point, and over 600 throughout the world, that operate successfully. Modern waste-to-energy facilities that operate in accordance with federal, state, and local standards are safe according to numerous scientific studies.  

WTE ash is non-toxic as shown by U.S. EPA approved tests, and any assertions to the contrary are simply false. At the neighboring Montgomery County WTE facility there is continuous monitoring of plant emissions and regular “stack testing,” as well as testing of the environment for any chemicals of concern, and the plant has been found to be completely safe. The proposed Frederick County facility would have some of the most advanced environmental protection features and emissions control equipment of any Waste-to-Energy facility in the world. 

Among the benefits of WTE facilities are that they greatly extend the lifetime capacity of modern landfills, and reduce waste volume by 90%. 

Waste-to-energy air emissions are exceedingly low and well below federal and state health-based limits. WTE facilities generate electricity with “less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity,” according to the U.S. EPA. The Frederick/Carroll WTE facility would constantly generate 45 megawatts of electricity, enough electricity to power 45,000 homes, offsetting the use of 150,000 tons of coal or 500,000 barrels of oil per year. 

WTE facilities apparently do not discourage recycling. To the contrary, across the United States, communities that have WTE facilities have higher recycling rates than communities that do not – an average of 33% for WTE communities vs. 28% for the others. Harford County, MD has had a WTE facility for years and has the highest recycling rate of any jurisdiction in the State of Maryland. 

Finally, the WTE project would bring significant economic benefits to the area at a time when the recession is affecting both jurisdictions partnering on the project. The WTE project would employ about 600 full-time skilled construction workers, and it is estimated that another 1,000 jobs in supporting industries would be created in the region during construction. About $260 million would be spent in the region by the vendor during the 2.5 year construction period.  

Once construction is complete, the WTE facility would employ 51 full-time employees and it is estimated that it would create another 30 jobs in supporting industries. The facility is expected to spend about $12 million annually on area businesses once it is in operation.  

In conclusion: 

• The proposed WTE facility would reduce the County’s dependence on electricity generated by the burning of fossil fuels and would increase recycling in the County.

• Proceeding with the WTE project would save Carroll County between $23 million and $230 million at a minimum over a 30-year period compared with waste disposal costs if the County does not proceed with the project.

• Not building the WTE facility would almost certainly require the building of another landfill in Carroll County, and the process that would precede the decision on the location of the new landfill would be an extremely contentious one.

• The proposed WTE facility would be developed by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority, an independent State agency that has previously developed WTE facilities in Montgomery and Harford Counties and in Baltimore City.

• Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., the proposed WTE project vendor, has been operating successful WTE facilities since 1975, and now operates 17 such facilities plus five independent power production facilities in the U.S.

• WTE facilities are proven to be environmentally safe and generate electricity with less environmental impact than most other sources of electricity.

• The WTE project would bring significant economic benefits to the region at a time when the recession is affecting both jurisdictions that would be partnering on the project.

The Frederick/Carroll County Renewable Waste-to-Energy facility appears to be in the overall best interests of the County, its businesses, and its residents, and the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the project.