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Additional Bond Use OK'd By Commission

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 21, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - In an effort to stretch dollars and tackle needed improvements at solid waste facilities, county commissioners agreed this week to refinance debt and take out an additional bond issue for capital projects.

The bonds, which had a face value of about $84.8 million as of Wednesday, would allow officials to pay off $65.4 million in debt at a lower interest rate and to spread out payments for a longer time, said Michael Nurrenbrock, Pasco County's director of management and budget. The value of the bonds will depend on market conditions when they are purchased.

An additional $18 million will be available for several projects, including construction of two "ashfills" to store remnants of trash burned at the county's waste-to-energy plant at Hays Road in central Pasco. The ash is what is left after the facility burns garbage and converts it to electricity. Burning reduces trash to ash about a tenth of its original size, but it must be placed in a landfill and covered, Nurrenbrock said.

Officials also plan to use bond proceeds to revitalize a transfer station at Handcart Road and repair a methane collection system at a landfill off Galen Wilson Boulevard.

Another portion of the money may be used to hire a consultant to help renegotiate a contract with Covanta Energy Corp., which runs the waste-to-energy facility, or to negotiate with another company to do so. Covanta's contract expires in 2011.

County officials plan to add another burner to the incinerator, which burns 1,050 tons of trash per day and produces 34 megawatts of electricity sold to power companies. With more than 450,000 residents, Pasco now is producing about 60,000 more tons of trash per year than the plant can handle. County officials now have an agreement to send the excess trash to a landfill in Osceola County.

Recycling advocates are pushing officials to reduce trash overall, but those efforts will not be enough to avoid expansion of the waste-to-energy plant, County Administrator John Gallagher has said.

The county commission was considering creating a franchise system that would allow companies to bid to provide recycling collection in four territories. After talking to the nine haulers that serve Pasco, however, the board reconsidered. The haulers want dibs to collect recyclables in the areas they serve now or to hire contractors to do so.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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