Solid Waste Agency Of Northwest Nebraska

In 1989, the cities and towns including Hemingford, Harrison, Crawford, Whitney, Chadron, Hay Springs, Rushville, Clinton and Gordon, plus the counties of Sioux, Dawes and Sheridan cooperatively funded a study to determine the most cost effective method to comply with coming, regulations. This study and report was published in January 1990. Analysis of all the costs involved proved that it was more cost effective to construct either one or two large landfills for all nine municipalities and three counties, rather than each community constructing and building their own landfill. On October 9, 1992, new Federal Regulations went into effect. These new regulations, commonly referred to as Subtitle D. relating, to solid waste, are a result of a law passed by Congress several years prior called the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These federal regulations were "dos" followed by passage of LB1257 by the Nebraska Legislature, which authorizes similar regulations. The objective of both sets of regulations is to protect ground water and the environment from pollution by solid waste. Early in 1992, the Solid Waste Agency of Northwest Nebraska was formed by all the communities and counties signing an interlocal agreement. The governing board of SWANN decided it was best: to let this new agency handle the solid waste from household to final disposal in the communities and to provide a disposal site for all rural residents, This was the first such agency organized in the State of Nebraska.