(OKLAHOMA) The Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority has arranged a deal to take the city of Mustang's waste to Canadian County. The agreement could ensure financial solvency for the authority, which was established in 1971.

Mustang officials recently accepted a bid from IESI for disposal. IESI will dump the city's waste at the county's landfill, which is operated by the authority. Mustang has not used the county's landfill since the early 1980s; All-American Waste currently collects Mustang's waste and disposes of it in its Council Road landfill.

Authority members had considered privatizing landfill operations because of a lack of capital. But because Mustang officials have agreed to use the county landfill, that privatization may no longer be necessary.

Within the next five years, the authority must line 57 acres at the landfill in accordance with federal requirements, a process expected to cost about $570,000.

City officials said IESI's proposal to handle the city's waste for $45,000, based on current waste flows, came in more than $100,000 below the bids of the other companies, which included Waste Management, Waste Connections, and All-American Waste.

For more information, contact the Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority, (405) 263-4418.