Illegal Dumping Is Big Problem at Winston
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Illegal Dumping Is Big Problem at Winston
MT 43 News Staff
What could have been a gripe session about the county’s solid waste fees turned into a brainstorming session Monday night at a Broadwater County Commission public hearing.
Public Works Supervisor TJ Graveley laid out the problems he’s having servicing the Winston dump site. His crews empty the cannisters daily at the site and even then site attendants end up cleaning up around the cannisters as well as outside the fence where people leave all kinds of junk, from car engines to mattresses and refrigerators. “Of all the sites, Winston is the worst. We need to change the situation by either moving the gates out closer to the highway, or close the walk-in access,” he said.
Graveley squelched the rumor that the county intended to close the Winston site. “I have no intention of closing the Winston site. I just want it cleaned up and more manageable,” he said.
The Winston site is across from the Pole Creek turnoff just west of Winston on Highway 287. The area is secluded, and the entrance has no turn lane off the busy highway. Currently the site is open only on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The site takes household waste, trees and brush, metal, cardboard and aluminum cans. Large loads of tree branches, lumber, refrigerators need to go to the Transfer Station on Indian Creek Road west of Townsend.
About 30 people, many from the Winston area, attended the meeting. They voiced opposition to closing the walk-in access, but several favored the idea of moving the entrance gate.
Leroy Cooper, a Winston resident, commented: “I like the walk-in access. Why punish people who do the right thing because others can’t follow the rules?”
Other residents favored the walk-in access because they work and cannot get to the cannister site before 3 o’clock during the day. Canyon Ferry Mansion owner Stacy Sommer said she cannot get to the Transfer Station before it closes, so she favors changing hours at Winston to later in the day on Saturday.
Many felt moving the gates closer to the highway would discourage contractors and others from pulling in without being seen.
Jerry Schoer has lived in Winston for 25 years. He favored moving the gate but expressed the idea of catching bad actors and pressing charges against them. The fine for illegal dumping is currently $500. “It’s time to up the fines and start issuing tickets. Eventually the word will get out then that people are being fined for illegal dumping,” he said.
Vince Hoff said he did not favor moving the gate because “then people would dump garbage closer to the highway.”
Catching people illegally dumping is another issue. Several people questioned whether it was prudent to snap photos of car licenses when they observe illegal dumping. Dan Pace remarked that in the five minutes he was at the dump he saw many out-of-county license plates, even a New Mexico plate. Others had observed contractors stop off the highway to dump entire truckloads of construction debris. “Where are our surveillance cameras?” asked Townsend resident Duane Holom.
Graveley said the surveillance cameras had long since been shot out or otherwise destroyed. “I’ve thought about putting up solar cameras on high posts.
His one concession at Winston would be to open the site Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as on Saturdays and Sundays. His attendants can turn in people who dump illegally but have no legal way to enforce the law. Broadwater County Sheriff officers are tasked with handling unlawful behavior.
Graveley suggested the department go back to issuing hang tags. Many in the group agreed hang tags were a good idea, but wanted the hours changed so working people would have access in the evenings. He indicated the department would be installing new signs that clearly explain what waste goes in which bin and a warning sign explaining fines for illegal dumping.
The solid waste assessment rate question found little opposition. Graveley explained the current rate of $185 per year on people’s property tax bill would not be changing. That amount allows each household to dispose of 3,000 pounds of solid waste per year. Any large loads over that will be go to the Transfer Station and charged for through the Transfer Station scale. “The new scale will make the system far more equitable. What you bring in, we weigh and that is what you are charged for disposal,” he explained.
Graveley he is proposing some changes in rates. They included $3 for car tires, $10 for truck tires and $25 for heavy equipment tires. Refrigerator disposal rates would go from $25 to $35 to cover the cost of freon removal. The rate for large-load tree disposal would be $10 each.
However, if he cannot keep his department within budget, he will have to suggest more changes to the commissioners. “Right now the assessment for 2,598 solid waste district property tax payers does not cover our costs, with tipping fees to the Lewis and Clark landfill at $4,000 per month plus higher diesel fuel costs and higher maintenance costs on our aging equipment,” he said.
One solution might be to privatize solid waste disposal Graveley mentioned. He had researched private waste disposal company charges. They ran from $400 to $600 per year per household.
Commissioner chairperson Debi Randolph and Graveley indicated more meetings on solid waste disposal would follow until they and the public could come up with solutions to the growing amount of garbage in Broadwater County.
