The city of El Paso took the first step toward taking over the multi-million dollar commercial trash business Tuesday.

Granted, it's a baby step, in the form of instructing Environmental Services Director Ellen Smyth to study the technical, legal and financial issues.

Still, City Council clearly is interested, as put by city Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly, who referred to the city passing up a chance to buy the Electric Company and said, "this is a chance to control our own destiny."

And Mayor John Cook specifically asked that study include the costs for either buying trucks from existing companies or buying new trucks.

Two items precipitated the discussion: The possibility that the Camino Real Landfill in Sunland Park may have to close within a year, since the New Mexico Environment Department only gave it a one-year permit instead of the 10 years the company sought; and a Supreme Court ruling in 2007 that allowed cities to enforce the concept of "flow-control," which essentially means that waste would have to be dropped off in the municipal landfill. The city also could take control of waste pickup under the concept.

The city operates one landfill, in Clint, and has a second landfill off McCombs in Northeast El Paso that has a permit to operate but is not prepared to handle waste. The city collects residential waste, but commercial waste is handled by several companies, the largest of which is El Paso Disposal, which is owned by the same company that owns the Camino Real Landfill, the multi-national conglomerate Waste Connections Inc.

To get McCombs ready in case of the Camino Real closing would be a huge expense for the city, which leads to a third element of the discussion. Another way the city could prepare for the Camino Real closure and pay for McCombs would be to charge franchise fees to commercial operators, which Smyth said is the practice of many major Texas cities. But a contract that nobody was able to explain Tuesday prevents the city of El Paso from charging those fees.

The contract, with Waste Connections Inc., was signed in April, 2004. The agreement allowed the city to dump waste at Camino Real at reduced charges for three months. In exchange, the city allows WCI to collect waste in the city for 10 years; for those 10 years, the agreement states, the city cannot impose franchise fees or any other charges on WCI.

"The intent of the parties is that WCI and its subsidiaries shall be in no less favorable position than currently in effect at the time of the execution of this Agreement," the contract states. In addition, states the contract, "The City agrees that, other than establishing citizen convenience stations, it will not … become a competitor to private solid waste companies in providing these services."

The contract was signed by then-Mayor Joe Wardy, and then-Solid Waste Management Director Emma Acosta, who now is the city representative for District 3.

During discussion Tuesday, Acosta asked several questions about whether city already issued permits, whether private garbage collectors pay a disposal fee at the city landfill, whether the city could restrict the flow of trash to another state, and whether it would require the sale of bonds to pay for getting McCombs ready to accept waste.

The answer to all four questions was yes.

City Rep. Susie Byrd said it was critical for the city to be prepared to handle waste should the Camino Real Landfill close.

"I'd like Ellen and her team to give us a solid proposal," Byrd said.

Acosta suggested the since the city was considering "monopolizing" the waste business in the city, the item ought to be sent to a legislative review committee, which would deliberate the issue with the stakeholders -- the commercial haulers -- "so we don't come back and have a room full of people against us."

But Cook said sending the item to legislative review would simply be a way to "bog the process down," and he added that "I'm sure there will be people against us controlling our own destiny."

Acosta referred to the late 1980s, when the city stopped taking commercial waste, and said companies got into the business and now the city might put them out of business. She also said that the whole exercise might not be necessary if the Camino Real Landfill did not close.

Roger Bristow, special projects manager for Waste Connections, then spoke briefly. He said the company was going to appeal denial of its 10-year permit, and pointed out the 2004 contract.

"We want to help you prevent what possibly could be an overreaction," he said.

Bill Addington, who spoke as chair of the water and waste committee of the El Paso Sierra Club, said he was in support of the city's proposal, including the possibility that the city would be able to add recycling of commercial waste.

He then turned to Acosta and asked her whether she had signed the 2004 contract with Waste Connections. She said she did not remember whether the contract took place before she left her position of director of Solid Waste Management, which was in May, 2004.

Mariana Chew, a member of the Sunland Park Grassroots Environmental Group, again brought up the question. She said Acosta should recuse herself, and added that "she's very worried about the business without consideration of other issues."

Acosta asked City Attorney Charles McNabb whether she should recuse herself if she had signed the contract, and he answered that she did not since she was acting in her capacity as director of solid waste.

Byrd made the motion to direct staff to investigate flow control and report back. The vote was unanimous.