Dueling Definitions

The latest chapter in the years-long saga between Dirty Boyz Sanitation and the City of Rawlins was written last week when, in a period of three days, the governing body revoked and then reinstated the company’s waste hauling license.

On November 15, the Rawlins City Council voted 4-2-1 to revoke the municipal solid waste (MSW) haulers license for Dirty Boyz. Then, during a special meeting on November 18, the council voted 4-2-1 to reinstate the license, citing concerns of public health and safety.

The latest back-and-forth between the private business and the governing body appeared to come down to definitions found in Rawlins Municipal Code and who could interpret those definitions. For a portion of the Tuesday meeting, the council chambers were transformed into a courtroom as City Attorney Gwendolyn Wade and Dirty Boyz attorney Amy Bach worked to defend the positions of each other’s clients.

Battle of Definitions

During the November 15 meeting, it was revealed Dirty Boyz had stopped bringing MSW to the Rawlins Municipal Landfill and Transfer Station.

A letter dated October 14, sent from Wade to the company, alleged from September 26 to October 11, only five loads of MSW had been delivered to the municipal landfill. Additionally, no loads had been delivered from October 11 to October 14. By comparison, from August 22 to September 24, a total of 75 loads of MSW had been delivered by Dirty Boyz to the landfill.

Ten days later, Dirty Boyz responded with a letter of their own.

“Garbage, trash or solid waste has been transformed from a public ‘problem’ to property that is a valuable resource that can be treated as a commodity,” read the letter. “The product/waste we pickup from our customers in Rawlins is treated as a commodity by my company and is taken to the Front Range Landfill.”

Wade argued the power to redefine waste was held solely by municipalities and was given to local governing bodies by the state legislature.

“Specifically, the state gives municipalities the control of their municipal solid waste. Anything that is collected within the city limits must be brought to the Rawlins landfill. That is written in our ordinance and that is a power that is given to us by the state,” said Wade. “The city is the one who defines what MSW is and is the one who controls where it is taken.”

Bach argued Dirty Boyz was not redefining anything, despite their letter calling waste a commodity. According to Bach, her clients were operating under the definition of recycling in current municipal code.

“We could argue all day about commodity versus recyclable materials but what’s important for you and what’s important for the public is that the city, unequivocally, has a definition that calls and outlines recyclable materials. It’s those materials you are able to remove from the waste stream.”

Section 8.08.01(d) defines recyclable materials as “raw or processed materials that can be removed from a waste stream, reused, and repurposed and reused into another item or use without posing unsanitary conditions and/or posing a potential health and safety concern.”

It should be noted, and was noted by Councilmember DeBari Martinez, the current municipal code around flow control of MSW—referred to as the “flow control ordinance”—was written by Bach when she served as city attorney.

Recycling Waste

Bach further argued that the definition of what was waste and what was recyclable had changed since the flow control ordinance was passed and continued to change. In regards to Front Range Landfill in Colorado, Mayor Terry Weickum said the facility was a landfill and that it buried the waste it received.

According to the website for Front Range Landfill, its green energy project captures landfill gas and converts it into an energy source. Traditional landfills, such as those in Rawlins, vent the landfill gas to the atmosphere.

Vice Mayor Jacquelin Wells said it was possible the City of Rawlins set a precedent by allowing recycling in the flow control ordinance in the first place.

“I’m all for recycling but now MSW can be changed. Did we set the precedent that we were going to allow for all recyclable materials?” said Wells. “Now there is (an) industry that can take the nasty stuff and they can make it into another recyclable item.”

No Real Numbers

During the November 15 meeting, Weickum said if Dirty Boyz were to continue taking loads to Erie rather than to the municipal landfill in Rawlins, the city would need to increase water rates in response. While Weickum stated all water rates would need to be increased by $60 per resident, no actual numbers were provided by either interim City Manager Tom Sarvey or other city staff.

At one point in the discussion, Bruce Leven, district site manager for Wyoming Waste Systems, asked if the City of Rawlins would reimburse his company for tipping fees during the time Dirty Boyz did not take their loads to the municipal landfill. When Wells asked how much money that would be, Leven estimated it to be $160,000.

During the special meeting to reinstate Dirty Boyz’s hauling license, that same number was cited by Weickum and Martinez as what was owed by the company. Bach clarified the City of Rawlins had not transported any MSW to Casper, which receives Rawlins’ solid waste stream, during the time her clients were taking MSW to Colorado. She argued what the governing body saw as a revenue loss could be seen as a cost savings.

No Clapping

At the November 15 meeting, Weickum went out of his way to accommodate public comment regarding the revocation of Dirty Boyz’s hauling permit. In total, nine residents spoke over a length of 45 minutes regarding the permit issue. That isn’t including the nearly two hours later in the meeting in which Bach represented her clients.

Three days later, during the special meeting, Weickum told the packed council chambers he would not be allowing public participation. In lieu of public comment, attendees of the meeting clapped in response to statements made by Bach. The mayor admonished the crowd, asking the crowd to “refrain from clapping” and said “this isn’t a high school play, this is very serious business.”

Back to Work

At the special meeting, Bach and Wade told the governing body the two had come to an agreement where the haulers would resume taking MSW to the municipal landfill if their haulers license was reinstated. Members of the council asked Bach if, with this agreement, her clients were admitting they had violated the flow control ordinance. She responded that wasn’t the case.

Council members also expressed interest about potential fines against Dirty Boyz and recompensation of any lost revenue. Wade and Bach said the only agreement they had come to prior to the special meeting was what was being presented to the governing body.

“It’s an agreement to work collectively with the city,” said Bach.

Voting

At the November 15 meeting, Wells and Councilmember Aaron Durst voted against revoking Dirty Boyz’s hauling license. During the special meeting, Weickum and Councilmember Chris Weisenburg voted against reinstating the license. Councilmember Darrel Garner abstained from both votes.

The next meeting of the Rawlins City Council will be at 7:30 p.m. on December 6 at Rawlins City Hall.