The Authority was established in 1988; at that time unlicensed and unlined landfills dominated the Upper Peninsula. State efforts to close these landfills prompted local communities to cooperatively develop state of the art waste management systems. All of Marquette County’s 22 constituent municipalities are now members of the Authority. The Authority operates under terms specified in an Intergovernmental Agreement and it’s bylaws. The landfill opened for business in late December 1989.