Settlement reached in Solid Waste court case

2005 Archived News

King County has reached a settlement with Rabanco Ltd., that dismisses all claims against the county and affirms the county's authority to fully recover the cost of serving the private waste haulers and avoid a general rate increase through 2007. The basic disposal fee has not been raised since 1999.

In exchange, the county agreed to pay to Rabanco a negotiated settlement of $250,000 and forgive a bond.

'We were extremely confident in our position, but the settlement resolves the issues at less than the projected cost of going to trial,' said Theresa Jennings, Director of the King County Solid Waste Division.

Rabanco had filed suit against the county a year ago as the county began to charge $10 more per ton at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill.

King County's disposal fees for its 1.2 million customers are among the lowest in the region and the Solid Waste Division handles about 1 million tons of garbage at its state-of-the-art Cedar Hills Landfill each year. The county operates eight transfer stations and two drop boxes in addition to the landfill.