As 2024 state deadline looms, Kern to host 14 waste hearings in December
Sep. 12—In the coming weeks, more than 12,000 people across 14 Kern County communities will receive a very important letter in their mailbox.
Counties across California are required to implement a qualified waste disposal system by Jan. 1 as part of Senate Bill 1383, a 2016 state law with a goal of throwing 75% less organic waste into landfills by 2025. This includes all census tracts containing more than 75 people per square mile.
Using the S.B. 619 process to secure additional time — S.B. 1383 requirements took effect Jan. 1, 2022 — Kern's unincorporated areas have an adjusted deadline of Dec. 31, 2023.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a three-cart, universal collection system and new rates in late May, except for certain areas of Kern, separated into three zones — metro Bakersfield, western Kern and eastern Kern. After four hours of deliberation at that meeting, many areas were teased out and deferred to later discussion. With that approval, Kern is currently at 81% compliance.
In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, supervisors approved 14 separate public hearings for those communities, which include Frazier Park, Tehachapi and Mojave, among others, that haven't adopted a valid collection system. Each hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 5 in the county chambers on Truxtun Avenue.
Kern District 1 Supervisor Philip Peters, who voted against the hearings, maintained he wasn't comfortable with what he described as the state's "one-size-fits-all" solution.
"I think this is something the state is coming through with a broad brush," Peters said, adding he still wants to explore cheaper options.
According to Josh Champlin, Kern's director of Public Works, protest letters will be mailed out to affected residents — one vote per parcel — starting Sept. 26, and will include information on upcoming community forums and submission instructions.
"Anything sent to us that has the name of the property owner, the address and signed will be acceptable," Champlin said.
At the meeting, Champlin and others agreed the public needs to understand their rights in this process.
"I think everyone needs to understand the importance of this vote," said Kern County Taxpayers Association Executive Director Michael Turnipseed.
None of the three zones in May received a sufficient number of protest letters through Proposition 218, which allows a legal contest of an impending law with a "50% plus one" majority.
Annual rates are the same negotiated figures presented in May, based on a city or area's zone: $368.64 for metro Bakersfield, $528.96 for western Kern and $559.80 for eastern Kern.
Each protest letter will only require a name, address and signature. Information will also be provided on upcoming community forums. The letter will not require an APN, or parcel number, Champlin said, adding that signatures will not be verified.
"We are trusting the public on this one," Champlin said.
The hearings will be held weeks before the state deadline. If governments don't comply in time, penalties run $10,000 a day or $3.65 million annually, fined directly to the county's general fund. If even one area does not approve its universal collection, the county will not be in full compliance with state law.
"We're at the eleventh hour," Champlin said, adding that in discussions with the state, "cost is not a reason for the state to forgive people of this program."
Information on dates will also be displayed on the Kern County webpage and their various social media.
In other action, supervisors:
—Approved a 12-year lease extension with the National Hot Rod Association to continue hosting motorsport events at the Poso-Kern County Airport. The association has hosted events at the McFarland site since 2002.
With this newest agreement, the contract will cost $1.8 million, divided into monthly payments of about $6,000. Beginning in January 2025, rent will increase by 2.5% each year, according to public documents.
—Rejected all bids for the covered aerated static pile composting facility at the Shafter-Wasco landfill. Two bids, from GSE Construction and Granite Construction, were reviewed, totaling $21.7 million and $26.6 million, respectively, in late June and summarily rejected due to "unanticipated changes to the scope of the project."
—Approved the attendance of Kern's Planning and Natural Resources Director Lorelei Oviatt at the Canada-California Carbon Capture Study Tour this week in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Oviatt was invited to attend by Rana Sarkar, the Consul General of Canada, in a July 14 letter.
"With a common sense of purpose, along with the scale and size of our respective economies, California and Canada have much to gain from deepening exchanges and cooperation on green infrastructure, clean technologies and effective regulation," Sarkar wrote.
The county's Planning and Natural Resources Department covered a portion of Oviatt's cost of travel, totaled at $920, as it relates to her work with carbon capture programs here in Kern.
—Allocated $1,000 from the county for lifesaving surgery for Stoney the dog. Examinations found, according to public documents, that Stoney suffers from bone-on-bone contact of the hip, and requires a femoral head osteotomy. The contribution came at the request of District 5 Supervisor David Couch and will be directed to the Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation, a local nonprofit.
