Dept. of Administrative Services inherits Torrington Transfer Station

TORRINGTON — Effective July 1, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services became the entity overseeing municipal waste service agreements in the Northwest Corner.

The shift occurred after the MIRA Dissolution Authority Board of Directors was unable to reach a consensus on what to do with the Torrington Transfer Station prior to June 30. The two apparent choices were to sell the facility to USA Waste & Recycling for $3.25 million, or to convey the property and permit to the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority, founded by the City of Torrington.

MIRA-DA had previously, at different times, accepted both proposals.

An agreement was reached in February 2025 for a regional waste authority to take over the Transfer Station. Most Northwest Corner towns expressed interest in joining. The City of Torrington worked with the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to establish the NRRA, holding a public hearing May 19 and concluding the process in early June.

USA Waste & Recycling’s purchase offer was conditionally accepted May 14, days before the NRRA could be established. Before the sale went through, the state intervened by passing an amendment to the Intervenor Bill (HB 7287) requiring the Torrington Transfer Station operating permit be transferred to the public authority.

MIRA-DA’s June meeting centered around how to proceed. The vast majority of discussion took place in executive session, which was recessed and reconvened over several days.

On June 26, Chairman Bert Hunter said, “After considerable deliberations, there is not sufficient support to pursue either the sale to a private party as proposed by USA Waste, a private option, or the public option as proposed by Northwest Hills COG plus the City of Torrington. So, since we cannot support either path, the contracts associated with the Torrington Transfer Station and the transfer station property will by law transfer to the Department of Administrative Services.”

The law cited here is the Solid Waste Management Services Act - Section 22a-284e, passed in 2024, which names DAS as the successor to MIRA-DA effective July 1, 2025.

MIRA-DA went on to make a motion formally recommending DAS “competitively bid the sale of the Torrington Transfer Station land and operations by September 30th, 2025, or at their earliest practicable opportunity.”

Towns in the Northwest Corner continue to mull the option of joining NRRA. Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway explained a town ordinance must be passed to secure membership.

“It’s still a ways away, but that’s where things are going,” Ridgway said at a selectmen’s meeting July 1.

As of early July, Torrington remained the sole municipal member of the Authority. Northwest Hills COG staff encouraged interested towns to “start the process” of joining the NRRA.