Dive Brief:

• A bill created to help complete the shuttering the Elkins-Randolph County landfill in Elkins, West Virginia was passed the House on Saturday. 
• House Bill 4339 would relieve the cost associated with closing the landfill, which stopped accepting waste in September of 2011. The state Division of Environmental Protection will provide the funds. 
• When the bill is signed by the governor, the town can apply for assistance to close and cap the landfill, which will cost an estimated $8.6M, and keep the site in compliance with state regulations.

Dive Insight:

Residents in the community where the landfill is located are paying $333,700 in operating costs per year, in addition to $262,274 in outstanding debt. Sanitation fees were raised by 32% in order to keep the landfill solvent. The site has not produced revenue since it was shuttered.