The Town of Drumheller is in the process of officially withdrawing from the Southern Alberta Energy from Waste Association (SAEWA).
SAEWA is a coalition of municipal entities and waste management jurisdictions that have been exploring creating an energy from waste facility, and have identified a site in the County of Newell.
Drumheller and member municipalities of the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Management Association (DDSWMA) have been members since 2012. During that time members of the association have contributed $87,376.84. Currently, this is 53 cents per capita annually.
At the DDSWMA meeting on Thursday, December 17, Rockyford Village councillor Bill Goodfellow made a motion that SAEWA bill municipalities directly. Prior to this, the membership fees were taken out of the association’s expansion fund. The motion passed, meaning each member of the Association will now directly pay if they wish to remain a member of SAEWA.
For Drumheller, this means they will no longer be paying into SAEWA. Drumheller CAO Darryl Drohomerski says Council has discussed the SAEWA membership and is not supportive of paying into the project.
This change came before the 2021 Solid Waste Association budget was passed.
“We have been trying to get out of it for a couple of years, so we won’t be putting it in our budget,” said Drohomerski.
Drumheller has many concerns about the project, from costs to ownership, transportation, and operations.
“We’re taking money we are putting away for the future and actually giving it to a membership we don’t know is ever going to come to fruition. This is ultimately going to take the waste we are putting in our landfill,” said Drohomerski.
He likens the relationship like paying a competitor to help put themselves out of business.
“For Drumheller and area residents it is important because it can determine the long term viability of operating landfill. There are many members of our current association, and they may elect to leave and take their waste to SAEWA, which would impact debt, operations, and membership,” said Drohomerski.
Drumheller contributes about half of the waste that is brought to the DDSWMA landfill each year.
