EPHRATA - Grant County may institute a new fee for people bringing garbage to the landfill or a drop box without securing it.

The Grant County commissioners plan to hold two public meetings about amending it's solid waste disposal ordinance.

The first is at 2 p.m. on March 29. The second is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on May 11. Both are in the commissioners' hearing room at the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata.

The amendment adds an unsecured load fee of $5 for passenger vehicles with one to three yards of capacity and $15 for trucks and other vehicles with more than three yards of capacity, according to the proposal.

The fee applies to any load of garbage not "covered with a tarp, inside an enclosed vehicle or otherwise secured or tied down by safety chains or other fastening devices in a manner that will prevent materials from spilling, escaping, falling or being blown or deposited outside of the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion," according to the proposal.

Public Works Director Derek Pohle said the change came after officials discovered a state law requiring the fee about two years ago. The law requiring the fee was enacted in 1995.

County officials hope the fee will decrease the number of people driving with unsecured loads, making the roads safer and saving money for the agencies picking up trash from the side of the road, Commissioner Carolann Swartz said.

"It's a traffic hazard," Swartz said. "It's something that's been brewing for a long time."

Grant County Public Works, the sheriff's office, the state Department of Ecology and Department of Transportation spend a total of $300,000 to pick up litter on the side of county roads, according to Grant County Solid Waste.

"It's an added fee at the landfill on top of your tonnage fee," Pohle said. "We don't expect to get much revenue from it. What revenue we do get we will use to fund our activities in picking up garbage on the roadways."