| What were the steps? |
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A "Garbage Crisis" was created with overstated waste estimates.
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1981 - The NH Legislature passed RSA 53-A and 53-B allowing towns to come
together to form waste management districts.
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1981 - Congressman Judd Gregg introduced H.R. 5288 and Senators, Gordon
Humphrey, Warren Rudman, Robert Stafford, and Patrick
Lehey introduced S.1915 allowing NH and VT towns to form a bi-state
agreement for waste disposal - the only such agreement in the U.S.
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1981 - Planning committees in NH's Sullivan County and VT's Windsor and Windham
Counties drew up District Agreements for solid waste management.
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| What was the sales pitch that sold the deal? |
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NH law now considered solid waste districts to be municipal entities.
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Citizens were told waste districts would be held to the same requirements for
budgeting and incurring of debt as municipal and county government or a
school district.
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The assumption was that the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration
would conduct annual audits.
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Claremont was promised very favorable electric rates with the
power generated by the incinerator - especially for industry.
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Towns were promised low disposal rates at the incinerator - we
currently pay some of the highest rates.
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| Claremont voters did not have a say! |
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March of 1982 Mayor Charles Puksta cast a tie-breaking vote and
the Claremont City Council approved the terms of the Sullivan County Regional
Refuse Disposal District (SCRRDD) Agreement and the city became a member of the
newly-formed District - and later the NH-VT Solid Waste Project.
Note: The SCRRDD agreement - identified powers and duties
and gave up certain powers and responsibilities of elected officials to
appointed representatives of the district committee - the agreement intended
protection for member towns and the taxpayers regarding budgets, fiscal affairs
and long-term obligations.
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Later in 1982 appointed SCRRDD representatives approved a
Cooperative Agreement (RSA 53-D) that handed over authority held
by the District Committee to the entity made up of the NH and VT District
Committees d.b.a. the New Hampshire-Vermont Solid Waste Project.
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| And then? |
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The District Agreement approved by City Council in 1982 was amended.
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Towns had eighteen months to withdraw from the district before
they entered into long term debt for disposal services with a private company.
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1985 $26 million in private activity bonds were issued
by the NH-IDA (New Hampshire Industrial Development Authority) to the New
Hampshire-Vermont Energy Corporation and Signal Environmental Systems - now d.b.a
Wheelabrator Claremont Company, L.P.
Note: NH-IDA-Issued bonds were secured by the District's
obligation to make certain payments to the company under the terms of a 20-year
waste disposal agreement which expires July 1, 2007.
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The NH District Committee did not seek voter approval to enter
into this long term agreement with Wheelabrator obligating the towns' taxing
authority to provide surety for private activity
financing. The long-term agreement locked towns into delivering a
guaranteed amount of trash through put-or-pay contracts that discouraged waste
reduction and recycling efforts.
Note: NH District towns' citizens never voted to authorize
the 1985 waste disposal agreement which guaranteed Wheelabrator sufficient
revenue to meet the company's obligation to pay those holding the tax exempt
resource recovery bonds.
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| What was the result? |
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Contractual obligations and long term debt are tied directly to the taxpayers
in the Districts through taxes and disposal fees.
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Decisions for those obligations are made without
direct involvement of the District Committees.
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Decisions are made by the "Project" despite a ruling by a New
Hampshire Supreme Court judge that clarified the Project has no legal identity
apart from the District Committees.
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| What is the recent history? |
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1996 there was a referendum vote in Vermont on an amended
and restated waste disposal agreement between Wheelabrator and
the Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District.
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1996 the amended and restated waste disposal agreement was never submitted to
SCRRDD (NH District) communities for voter approval.
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In NH it was approved by a majority of the appointed
representatives of the SCRRDD.
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The settlement around the 1996 Amended and Restated Waste Disposal
Agreement included backdating the agreement to July 1, 1995.
Note: The argument for the 1996 amendments to the contract
with Wheelabrator promised that it would result in savings of "up to $11
million" and would remove the need for the Districts to go into debt to expand
the Newport ash landfill - neither proved correct.
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2000-2001 citizen pressure closed the Newport ash landfill and prevented
privatization and expansion of the property.
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