Expiring Trash Pact Puts Clinton Twp. on Deadline to Decide Future of Former Landfill

A sunset clause on the corporate existence of the 51-year-old Grosse Pointes-Clinton Refuse Disposal Authority has put Clinton Township and seven other cities on deadline to decide the future of the 65-acre property formerly home to a landfill and incinerator.

Formed by Clinton Township, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Park in 1962 to secure better rates for trash disposal, the authority eventually grew to eight members, all of which are currently under contract to Waste Management for the handling of their entire waste stream.

This contract, and the corporate existence of the authority, is due to expire on March 31, 2014. Members of the authority have the option to extend its life or dissolve the partnership entirely.

However, should the decision be to dissolve, state law mandates that the authority rid itself of all assets in advance of the expiration date, attorney John Gillooly told the Clinton Township board Monday.

While liquidation of the authority’s financial assets should not be an issue, Gillooly said the authority’s 65-acre property on Lipke Road in Clinton Township is a problem.

“You need to make a decision in the next two months,” Gillooly said. “The reason being that the biggest asset, and also the most contentious to be resolved, is the property at Lipke Road. “It is owned by the authority as a whole and if the authority ceases to operate, we will have to do something with the property.”

Once used as a municipal landfill and later as the site of an incinerator, these operations closed down in the late 1990s when the authority moved to transfer waste directly to Pine Tree Acres landfill in Lenox Township and the former City Disposal Transfer facility located at I-75/I-94.

Although past environmental studies have not raised any concerns regarding the property’s safety, Gillooly said should any issues arise in the future, the authority as it currently exists would still be held responsible.

“We don’t want to sit on this any longer,” said Trustee Ken Pearl, who also represents Clinton Township on the authority. “We want to resolve this. The authority is not interested in making money. We want to resolve it for the benefit of everyone and not have an environmental issue in the future that we’re liable for.”

Should the authority decide to sell the property, it would be marketed as residential, although Gillooly said a better use would perhaps be recreation, given the 20-acre lake that also sits on the property.

Due to zoning, the property can not be sold for industrial purposes.

Should the authority decide to sell, how would you like the property to be used?