The Centre County Solid Waste Authority last night reaffirmed its commitment to a "grandfather" clause which will send Centre County's garbage to Clinton County.

The vote was four to one with one member abstaining. Jim Walck, the dissenting vote, refused to comment.

Just as the meeting was about to end, the waste authority was informed of the death of member Bob Clink. Clink was reportedly on his way to the meeting when he suffered a heart attack. A Centre Community Hospital spokeswoman said Clink died at about 7:38 p.m.

Under Clinton County's proposal, Centre County would pay $47.18 per ton of garbage in the first year of a five-year plan with a gradual rise to $47.88 in the fifth year.

Executive Director Donald Bachman expressed concern that proposals from other landfills did not fulfill the grandfather clause's conditions.

Bachman said the clause, which was an edict from Gov. Robert P. Casey, requires a landfill to receive 70 percent of its garbage from the state before issuing a permit to the landfill. Also, since 1988 Centre County agreed to send its waste to Clinton County's landfill.

He said that to amend the agreement would result in the loss of the grandfather status, which would then cause the authority to lose control of Centre County's waste.

Garbage would be handled by individual municipalities.

Since the Carlin Landfill in Snowshoe Township is closing April 10 because the owner will not comply with stringent state environmental regulations, several other landfills have petitioned Centre County to receive its garbage.

Browning-Ferris Industries, based in Maryland, proposed to utilize its Greentree landfill in Elk County. However, the landfill is about 70 miles away -- a distance which would drive up transportation costs.

Mike Dougherty, vice-president of Browning-Ferris, said the increased cost of transportation to the site is acceptable when compared to the starting price of $25.80 per ton of garbage, a 20-cent reduction from the original proposal.

However, members of the authority expressed concern that Browning- Ferris and Attwoods, another bidder for the county's trash, did not meet the requirements of the clause.