The Region : Trash Proposal Advances

Mine Reclamation Corp., which is proposing to haul trash by rail from the San Gabriel Valley to a landfill to be developed at Eagle Mountain in Riverside County, has won initial support for the project from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

The board this week approved a memorandum of understanding that declares that the county views the project as “an attractive and viable part of a regional solid waste management program.”

Robert Nelson, county director of waste management, said the memorandum calls for Mine Reclamation Corp. to pay $444,000 over two years to help provide governmental services to communities near the proposed landfill while the company seeks environmental clearance. If the landfill receives the required permits, he said, the county and the company will negotiate a development agreement. The non-binding terms suggested by the memorandum of understanding would give the county a fee based on the amount of trash brought to the landfill.

Mine Reclamation Corp. has proposed a landfill that would handle 4,000 tons of trash a day initially and could be expanded to 16,000 tons. The rates proposed in the memorandum of understanding would give the county $5 million a year in revenue if the landfill received 4,000 tons of trash a day.