The Denton Public Utilities Board on Feb. 10 voted to recommend two ordinances that will authorize the city manager to enter agreements guaranteeing delivery of specified tonnage to the city landfill by Wise County and the Town of Little Elm at negotiated (discount) rates. The motions for both interlocal agreements carried unanimously.

City staff explained the agreements are part of the landfill’s revenue‑stabilization strategy. Staff said the contracts use a put‑or‑pay or guaranteed‑volume approach to ensure a baseline of tons accepted by the landfill and to stabilize revenue that covers fixed operating costs. The director described the existing practice of negotiating individual agreements with larger haulers and counties; staff said prior put‑or‑pay arrangements bring roughly 125,000–130,000 tons per year to the facility and that the additional contracts are folded into that overall planning.

Staff told the board the added tonnage under these agreements represents operational volume rather than an immediate material change to the landfill footprint. “Total, you know, we take in about 1,200 ton a day, of material. This is close to 10,000. So it's basically a week's worth of life off the landfill,” a staff member explained. Staff emphasized this tonnage is accounted for in the overall life‑of‑site calculations and said the landfill currently has many years of remaining capacity (staff cited approximately 50–55 years of capacity under current forecasts).

Board members asked whether the negotiated discount rates are uniform or individually negotiated; staff said rates are negotiated per agreement and that several agreements have different rates and terms. Staff also said the city is pursuing diversion and commercial recycling efforts that have already produced measurable extension of the landfill life (staff said recent diversion work gained the equivalent of about 45 days of landfill life in a single quarter).

Votes at a glance: PUB recommendation to council to adopt ordinance for interlocal agreement with Wise County (unanimous); PUB recommendation to council to adopt ordinance for agreement with Town of Little Elm (unanimous).