If the Legislature gives approval to a new private landfill in Tooele, the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Management Facility expects to lose 32 percent of its annual revenues and will be forced to cut jobs by a third.

And cutbacks could grow, especially if managers of the new landfill make good on their pledge to receive municipal waste for $16 per ton — a cut rate well below the $22 per ton charged at the Salt Lake Valley facility and the Trans-Jordan Cities Landfill, which serves suburban cities in Salt Lake County.

Salt Lake County Public Works Director John Patterson said his department is already preparing to shave its landfill workforce in lieu of the pending Tooele facility. The Salt Lake Valley landfill employs about 65 people, which means roughly 21 jobs will be lost.

"We will be talking about what plans we are making for these people" who will lose their jobs, Patterson said. "Given the lead time we've had, hopefully any job losses will come through attrition."

The Utah Senate, in a 24-2 vote, Friday passed SRC2, which will need approval from the House this week.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Allen, D-Tooele, would allow Wasatch Regional Solid Waste Management Corp. to proceed with its plans to create the private landfill on the state's Institutional Trust Lands Administration property six miles north of I-80 near Delle.

Wasatch Regional is owned and operated by several well-connected lobbyists, including former House Speaker Mel Brown and former Congressional candidate Kevin Garn.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, praised the bill for creating jobs in Tooele, although he didn't mention the bill would conversely cause job losses in his own county.

"We're finally going to get some nonhazardous waste that will not only make money but will provide jobs in Tooele County," he said.

The bill would support Wasatch Regional's plan to sell the landfill to Allied Waste/BFI, which has contracts to dispose of waste and recyclables throughout the state. Jodi Hoffman, Wasatch's Chief Operating Officer, said Allied/BFI has an option to purchase the landfill, but the sale hasn't closed yet and she couldn't disclose the purchase price. The new landfill is set to open in June.

Currently, Allied/BFI accounts for 32 percent of all waste that is taken to the Salt Lake Valley facility, which is jointly owned by Salt Lake City and County. If the sale goes through, Allied/BFI would take that waste to Tooele, leaving Salt Lake Valley with a third less business.

Patterson said the Salt Lake facility's annual revenue stream would plummet from $18 million to roughly $12 million. The drop means the landfill will have to cut costs and employees.