Lake County Board of Supervisors accepts fire debris at Eastlake Landfill

The Lake County, California, Board of Supervisors has reversed an Oct. 31 decision to not accept Redwood fire debris at the Eastlake Landfill in Clearlake, a report by the Lake County News says. The initial response came after a request from ECC, the debris removal contractor in Lake and Mendocino counties for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers located in Burlingame, California.

At the Oct. 31 meeting, ECC asked the county to allow debris at the Eastlake Landfill rather than forcing the contractor to haul it to nearby landfills in Vacaville and Suisun City, the report says. The issue was recently brought back to the board.

Lars Ewing, public services director, says in the report that the landfill is at 87 percent capacity and the remaining capacity is expected to last 13 years. If the unanticipated Redwood fire debris is included, the capacity is expected to drop down to nine and a half years.

Ewing says that around 400 properties in Mendocino County still need cleaned up, which brings the fire debris at a total of 10 months landfill capacity, bringing the landfill’s capacity down to eight and a half years, in 2026.

An expansion project for the landfill is expected to be complete by 2024.

The report says Ewing estimated a $67.62 per ton tipping fee for the debris. The fee will help the county repair roads that have been affected by truck traffic to the landfill.

Board Chair Jeff Smith says in the report that the debris should not be trucked over Highway 20, through the Northshore communities and along the lakeshore and will be taken to the landfill on Highway 29. Supervisor Jim Steele directed staff to develop an agreement with ECC including those provisions.