Ordinance may add fee for unsecured load

EPHRATA - Grant County may charge people if they bring unsecured garbage to the county landfill or a drop box.

The Grant County commissioners are holding a second public meeting concerning its solid waste disposal ordinance at 5:30 p.m. on May 11 in the commissioners hearing room at the Grant County Courthouse.

The amendment could add a $5 fee for passenger vehicles with 1-3 yards of capacity and $15 for trucks and other vehicles with more than 3 yards of capacity, according to the proposal.

The fee applied to any load of garbage not "covered with a tarp, inside an enclosed vehicle or otherwise secured or tied down by safety chains or other fastening devices in a manner that will prevent materials from spilling, escaping, falling or being blown or deposited outside of the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion," according to the proposal.

Public Works Director Derek Pohle said in a previous interview the change came after officials discovered a state law requiring the fee about two years ago. The law requiring the fee was enacted in 1995. 

County officials hope the fee will decrease the amount of people driving with unsecured loads, making the roads safer and saving money for the agencies picking up trash from the side of the road, Pohle and commissioner Carolann Swartz said.

"It's a traffic hazard," Swartz said. "It's something that's been brewing for a long time."

Grant County Public Works, the sheriff's office, the state Department of Ecology and Department of Transportation spend a total of $300,000 picking up litter on the side of county roads, according to Grant County Solid Waste.

"It's an added fee at the landfill on top of your tonnage fee," Pohle said. "We don't expect to get much revenue from it. What revenue we do get we will use to fund our activities in picking up garbage on the roadways."