State Audit Finds Jefferson County $4,894,318 Deficit in Solid Waste Disposal Fund

Jefferson County has recently completed its State Audit and the results of that report have been made public. The Solid Waste Disposal Fund showed a deficit of $4,894,318. in unrestricted net assets and it is a recurring audit finding. According to information in the audit, the Solid Waste Disposal Fund accounts for the County’s Solid Waste Landfill Operation. Jefferson County currently has permits on file with the State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for two sanitary landfills and one demolition landfill. In order to be permitted, Jefferson County had to supply financial assurances for a final cover on the sanitary landfills and to perform maintenance and monitoring for 30 years after closure. Closure and Post closure care costs will be paid around and after the time that the landfill stops accepting waste, however the costs that are associated with closure are reported as operating expenses according to landfill capacity used during the reporting period. Of the $5,371,619 reported as total costs for closure and maintenance in the 2012 findings, $1,972,405 were incurred from the Hwy 92 site that closed in 1993 and $3,399,214 were from the current Patterson site.

Shannon Ashford, Communications Officer for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation stated that the County has Financial Assurance for the three landfill permits that total more than $9 million dollars. The largest amount is around $7.3 million for the current active Class I landfill. Jefferson County, like other cities and counties in Tennessee, has a Contract in Lieu of Performance Bond with the State of Tennessee which meets their financial assurance requirement for permitting. This bond guarantees that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation can collect any funds necessary for closure and maintenance of the sites from monies that were disbursed or will be disbursed to Jefferson County from the State, should the County fail in their obligation or changes occur in the County’s ability to continue to meet the financial test required for the contract.

The current landfill site permit was filed with TDEC in August of 1991 and the closure date is estimated to be in 2032. Costs associated with closure can rise dependent upon circumstances such as inflation, change in guidelines or technology. The State Audit findings have not gone unnoticed, as an almost $5 million dollar deficit in the Jefferson County Solid Waste Disposal Fund was noted in the Beacon Center annual Pork Report. According the State Audit, the findings are recurring due to inadequate financing to fund the debt. It is notable that the deficit in unrestricted net assets for the Solid Waste Disposal Fund has decreased $66,190 from the previous year.