[StBernard] St. Bernard to probe SDT garbage contract

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Wed Nov 5 09:08:09 EST 2008


St. Bernard to probe SDT garbage contract
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune
Wednesday November 05, 2008, 7:51 AM
In a hasty election night meeting, the St. Bernard Parish Council decided to
move forward with an independent investigation of garbage collection in the
parish, following revelations of huge increases in landfill costs billed to
the parish by SDT Waste & Debris.




The split decision by the council came after discussion of holding off on an
investigation until SDT owner Sidney Torres IV, parish officials and the
council could sit down to discuss the matter.

Originally the investigation would have been solely done by Council Chairman
Wayne J. Landry, but Councilmen Mike Ginart and Ray Lauga suggested the
entire council be brought in to discuss it.

"I would like to get everybody to the table, get everybody's numbers
together and rectify the situation if possible, " Lauga said.

Landry said having the entire council involved could slow the investigation
and stir more burdens, such as sending out public notices for meetings.

"These guys are part-time people, and if I don't get a quorum I don't get an
investigation, " Landry said after the meeting.

In a four-month period last year, landfill costs billed to the parish by SDT
increased fivefold and continued to rise until early this year, according to
parish records, raising questions from parish officials about whether
construction debris from outside the parish was being mixed in with St.
Bernard's garbage.

In addition to the contract to pick up garbage from parish households, SDT
has exclusive use of a parish waste transfer site on Paris Road as part of a
verbal agreement with former Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez's
administration. The waste hauling company could bring trash and debris to
the site from other parishes in exchange for hauling St. Bernard's waste to
River Birch Landfill in Waggaman for free. The parish pays SDT a $20 monthly
fee for each household, as well as disposal costs at the landfill.

Taffaro has since ordered SDT to leave the site, giving the company a 30
days to use the site for St. Bernard garbage. SDT is no longer allowed to
bring in garbage or debris from other parishes, Taffaro said.

Torres said debris from new construction in the parish contributed to the
cost increase, as contractors dumped debris onto the garbage pile.

That debris was then billed to the parish, an arrangement Torres said was
discussed with parish officials. After Torres took over the site, disposal
costs to the parish rose sharply: from $41,000 billed in May 2007 to
$392,000 in February 2008.

SDT also has no scales at the site to weigh the incoming trash, making it
difficult to gauge exactly how much garbage should be billed to the parish
or to other SDT customers.

Taffaro distributed a lengthy report to the council during the meeting.
Afterward, Landry criticized Taffaro for pushing a $20-per-household garbage
fee on parish residents during the summer when River Birch Landfill had
alerted him to the billing irregularities as early as January. "In January
he knew he had a problem, and did nothing but come to the council and ask
for a $20 fee on the people, " he said.

That fee, which was to begin being collected in December, has been suspended
while the parish investigates the disposal costs.

Taffaro could not immediately be reached for comment after the meeting.




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