Inyo County’s Waste Disposal Transfer Station Saga Nears an End

Inyo County’s Waste Disposal Transfer Station Saga Nears an End 

Inyo County residents with a long memory may recall the dispute between the County and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over ownership of Inyo’s Disposal Transfer Stations (aka dumps/landfills). The saga came near a conclusion last week with Inyo’s Board of Supervisors unanimous vote on the purchase the Bishop Sunland, Independence and Lone Pine sites for $465,965. 

That sale price was included in this fiscal year’s budget, according to Inyo Chief Administrative Officer Nate Greenberg. He described his two-year negotiations for the purchase as one of his priorities with the change of leadership at LADWP making the difference. The Inyo Board was the first to approve the purchase, but Greenberg anticipated Los Angeles would sign off on the agreement as well. 

County Counsel John Vallejo explained Inyo’s ownership of the land would facilitate direct communication with CalRecycle, the State’s department focused on reducing waste and the reuse of materials. With LADWP as owner of the land, Inyo had to go through the Department in its communication with CalRecycle. 

Significant elements of the purchase are a Water Exchange Agreement for the Bishop site. Inyo will continue to have access to LADWP supplied water. Easements in Independence and Lone Pine allow for eventual construction of water lines from the towns’ water systems for dust control, replacing the current practice of trucking in water. Inyo’s expired contracts with CalRecycle can also be renewed. 

Of course, the sale does not hand over water rights to Inyo nor can the land be used for any other purposes. During the Supervisors’ comments on the agreement, Dist. 2 Supervisor Jeff Griffith applauded the verbal commitment from LADWP but added that “once this issue is resolved we can move on to other land tenure issues like the Bishop Airport lease.”  

Nearly ten years ago, control of Inyo’s landfills was one of former CAO Kevin Carunchio’s Alamos. Unfortunately, Inyo went head-to-head with LADWP management, which was equally incalcitrant. Greenberg was accurate in his assessment of the current, far less incalcitrant, LADWP management. 

Deb Murphy