Mower County is likely going to take more time to update how it handles solid waste permits.

Last May, the Mower County board approved a one-year moratorium on solid waste ordinance requests so it could research and update its current solid waste ordinance, which hadn’t been updated since 1992.

Now, the board will vote at its regular Tuesday meeting, which starts at 8:30 a.m., to set a public hearing to discuss extending the moratorium for an additional year so county staff and commissioners have more time to finish the ordinance.

“We can only extend it once,” Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said at last week’s board meeting. “We can extend it up to a year. Even though it’s not going to take that long, hopefully, we’ll be covered.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Commissioner Tim Gabrielson added.

In the last year, the county has done a lot of work and research on the new ordinance, but officials have said they won’t be able to finish the plan by the time the one-year moratorium ends in May.

Last month, the board voted to seek a specialist’s help as it continues its work. But that is one move driving the need for more time to complete a new solid waste ordinance.

In March, the board approved a $25,000 to $30,000 contract with Tim Kenyon of Leggette, Brashears & Graham Inc. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for work on a Statement of Need and Reasonableness — often called a SONAR — to provide background and guidance on the proposed ordinance change.

While he admitted the contract is expensive, Commission Mike Ankeny supported the plan because he said the county needs such a study to give the county a baseline and proper information to reference back to moving forward with the ordinance.

Reinartz also noted that if the county has future landfill requests, this document would help ensure they’re housed on suitable land for such projects.

“We want to get as much information as we can,” Reinartz said at a past meeting.

The work will look at the geology and hydrology of the county for looking at how the ordinance regulates landfills across the county.

The county’s solid waste ordinance guides the way the county regulates the storage, transportation and disposal of solid waste. Talks and interest on landfills picked up after SKB Environmental acquired neighboring Veit Solid Waste Facility. SKB Environmental has said it’s looking into adding mixed municipal solid waste — or household garbage — and possibly recycling services to its Austin site.

To update its ordinance, the committee has been working with officials from Sherburne County others to discuss ideas and options for the final plan. They’ve touched on liners, land use issues, setbacks, runoff and a host of other subjects.