Garbage is being loaded into the central landfill at Cotati again after a pause of seven years. The trash is compacted as soon as it is discharged from the truck.

Public meeting on reopening of Mecham Road landfill

BRETT WILKISON,
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

North Coast water quality regulators are set to hold a public meeting Wednesday night to discuss requirements Sonoma County must meet to permanently reopen its central landfill.

The dump on Mecham Road west of Cotati was reopened on temporary basis in 2010 following a five-year closure due to water quality concerns raised by state officials over a damaged liner.

To permanently reopen the landfill, the county must secure a state permit that spells out water discharge requirements and practices.

Those draft measures will be the focus of Wednesday's meeting, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Santa Rosa office of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, 5550 Skylane Blvd., Suite A.

Public comment will be accepted. The deadline for written comments is Jan. 22. For more information, visit www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/water_issues/programs/land_disposal/.

The meeting comes as the county enters the final phase of negotiation with two companies on longterm operation of the landfill and waste transfer stations. The proposed 30-year agreement with Republic Services of Arizona and the Ratto Group of Companies, Sonoma County's dominant garbage hauler, is set to come to the Board of Supervisors in late February.

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