Did Peter van der Linde fight the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority into a settlement stalemate of sorts, or vice versa? This much we know: Months after the RSWA filed an amended complaint against the recycling center director to the tune of a $30 million racketeering charge, the RSWA came to settlement terms last night with van der Linde, who agreed to pay the RSWA a sum of $600,000 over the next five years.
The $600,000 price tag may ultimately be a less expensive bandage for van der Linde; City Councilor and RSWA Board member David Brown told C-VILLE that van der Linde was accused of "intentionally not paying as much as a million dollars in fees due to Rivanna." The RSWA’s case against van der Linde was slated to go before Charlottesville Federal Court in June, when van der Linde’s payments will now begin.
Additionally, private waste collection company BFI will pay RSWA $300,000; the settlement terms also stipulate that the RSWA and BFI are released from the 1997 contract that allowed RSWA to deposit solid waste at BFI’s Zion Crossroads transfer station, which led to a three-party dispute between the RSWA, BFI and van der Linde over application of a $16 service contribution fee. However, BFI must continue to receive solid waste from Charlottesville under the same terms until June 30, 2010, according to the terms of the settlement.
At present, the RSWA is soliciting requests for proposals for the transfer, hauling, disposal and recycling of solid waste, with a submission deadline of March 2. Charlottesville City Council plans to evaluate the costs of proposals during a work session in April.
