Dickerson Incinerator Gets New Lease On Life After Divided MoCo Vote

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday voted 6-5 to keep the aging Dickerson incinerator running, despite continuous efforts to close the facility.

The vote on the non-binding resolution earned the support of Councilmembers Natali Fani-González, Sidney Katz, Dawn Luedtke, Kate Stewart, Shebra Evans and Evan Glass.

Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Kristin Mink, Andrew Friedson, and Laurie-Anne Sayles were opposed. Incoming County Executive Will Jawando also voted against the resolution.

The measure approved by the County Council marks the 11-member body's backing of refurbishing the incinerator, a move officials say could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich, who vowed nearly a decade ago to close the facility, expressed disappointment during his weekly briefing. He particularly took issue with Fani-González's move to put a deadline on the incinerator vote.

"There was no urgency to vote today. This is Natalie's made-up deadline," Elrich said.

"This deadline is based on nothing in the real world other than she wanted to do it, and why you would set a deadline when you know you didn't have the information is really bothersome."

"This is not the way to make policy," he said.

Fani-González had previously promised to resolve the incinerator issue by Thanksgiving.

Elrich, along with environmentalists, have argued in favor of closing the incinerator due to it harmful effect on not just the environment but also on the health of residents.

In operation since the mid-1990s, the Dickerson incinerator processes some 600,000 tons of the county's waste annually and transports leftover ash to a landfill in Virginia.

The county's contract with incinerator operator Reworld runs until 2031.