§ 153A-292. County collection and disposal facilities.
§ 153A‑292. Countycollection and disposal facilities.
(a) The board of countycommissioners of any county may establish and operate solid waste collectionand disposal facilities in areas outside the corporate limits of a city. Theboard may by ordinance regulate the use of a disposal facility provided by thecounty, the nature of the solid wastes disposed of in a facility, and themethod of disposal. The board may contract with any city, individual, orprivately owned corporation to collect and dispose of solid waste in the area.Counties and cities may establish and operate joint collection and disposalfacilities. A joint agreement shall be in writing and executed by the governingbodies of the participating units of local government.
(b) The board of countycommissioners may impose a fee for the collection of solid waste. The fee maynot exceed the costs of collection.
The board of countycommissioners may impose a fee for the use of a disposal facility provided bythe county. The fee for use may not exceed the cost of operating the facilityand may be imposed only on those who use the facility. The fee for use may varybased on the amount, characteristics, and form of recyclable materials presentin solid waste brought to the facility for disposal. A county may not impose afee for the use of a disposal facility on a city located in the county or acontractor or resident of the city unless the fee is based on a schedule thatapplies uniformly throughout the county.
The board of countycommissioners may impose a fee for the availability of a disposal facilityprovided by the county. A fee for availability may not exceed the cost ofproviding the facility and may be imposed on all improved property in thecounty that benefits from the availability of the facility. A county may notimpose an availability fee on property whose solid waste is collected by acounty, a city, or a private contractor for a fee if the fee imposed by acounty, a city, or a private contractor for the collection of solid wasteincludes a charge for the availability and use of a disposal facility providedby the county. Property served by a private contractor who disposes of solidwaste collected from the property in a disposal facility provided by a privatecontractor that provides the same services as those provided by the countydisposal facility is not considered to benefit from a disposal facilityprovided by the county and is not subject to a fee imposed by the county forthe availability of a disposal facility provided by the county. To the extentthat the services provided by the county disposal facility differ from theservices provided by the disposal facility provided by a private contractor inthe same county, the county may charge an availability fee to cover the costsof the additional services provided by the county disposal facility.
In determining the costs ofproviding and operating a disposal facility, a county may consider solid wastemanagement costs incidental to a county's handling and disposal of solid wasteat its disposal facility, including the costs of the methods of solid wastemanagement specified in G.S. 130A‑309.04(a) of the Solid Waste ManagementAct of 1989. A fee for the availability or use of a disposal facility may bebased on the combined costs of the different disposal facilities provided bythe county.
(c) The board of countycommissioners may use any suitable vacant land owned by the county for the siteof a disposal facility, subject to the permit requirements of Article 9 ofChapter 130A of the General Statutes. If the county does not own suitablevacant land for a disposal facility, it may acquire suitable land by purchaseor condemnation. The board may erect a gate across a highway that leadsdirectly to a disposal facility operated by the county. The gate may be erectedat or in close proximity to the boundary of the disposal facility. The countyshall pay the cost of erecting and maintaining the gate.
(d), (e) Repealed bySession Laws 1991, c. 652, s. 1.
(f) This section doesnot prohibit a county from providing aid to low‑income persons to pay allor part of the cost of solid waste management services for those persons. (1961, c. 514, s. 1; 1971, c.568; 1973, c. 535; c. 822, s. 2; 1981, c. 919, s. 22; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990),c. 1009, s. 3; 1991, c. 652, s. 1; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 594, s. 27; 2007‑550,s. 10(a).)