WINNEMUCCA — The landfill initiative got a little closer to the ballot on Monday (May 3).  The Humboldt County Commissioners were presented with the initiative and voted unanimously to let it proceed to the ballot to be voted on in November.

A committee of local citizens organized themselves and collected the necessary signatures to put the issue of secondary landfills before the voters. If ultimately passed, the initiative would limit the amount of garbage accepted at secondary landfills to 150 percent above what is accepted at the Humboldt County Regional Landfill, which averages about 10,000 tons/year.

The issue was not without controversy. John Frankovich, of McDonald Carano and Wilson, who represents Jungo Land & Investments, submitted a letter to the commission arguing the initiative as presented was procedurally defective because it failed to provide voters with economic-impact information before they signed the initiative petition.

The letter further argued the petition was in violation of state statutes that declare the laws on intrastate and interstate solid waste disposal is a state issue, and further that the petition was unconstitutional.

The letter asked the county commission to initiate action in court to prevent the measure from being placed on the ballot. The letter is shown in its entirety on Page 2.

The Initiative Committee responded with a letter of its own arguing, in part, the NRS statutes in the Frankovich’s letter referencing economic impact deal with state initiatives and not county ones.

Primarily, the Initiative Committee made the point their concern was health/safety of the public. The response letter is shown on page 3 slightly edited to remove potentially libelous content.

The commission did not discuss the legal aspects of the petition. Humboldt County DA Russell Smith explained they had several options, which included setting the matter to a public hearing. However, the commission ultimately voted to just let the matter go before the voters.