Landfills face a variety of permitting and operational considerations and challenges. This is Waste Dive's latest roundup of landfill news from around the country.
Private landfill expansions are often long processes shaped by regulations at multiple levels of government and by public opinion. Over the past month, Republic Services has faced local opposition at sites in Tennessee and Oregon. Meanwhile, Rumpke is working to address neighbors’ concerns as it launches an expansion of its own in Kentucky.
Here’s a look at some notable landfill developments:
Local officials sue for input on Republic Services’ Tennessee landfill expansion
The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board and city of Murfreesboro are suing BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee, a subsidiary of Republic Services, after the company filed with state regulators to expand the Middle Point Landfill, WSMV reported. The officials say they should have been given a say in the proposal, a 70-foot vertical expansion which would add an estimated 19 million tons of landfill capacity.
In their complaint, the officials say Republic “leapfrogged both statutory and regulatory obligations” by failing to file its expansion request with the regional planning board prior to its application to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. They’re seeking to compel Republic to file its expansion application with them first and go through a local control process.
In a statement provided to WSMV, Republic Services said it was following “an established industry practice that is subject to an extensive, comprehensive review in adherence to state procedures, including a public comment period.”
Local officials have worked to increase their oversight of the landfill this year following neighbors’ complaints. Murfreesboro annexed the property on which the landfill is sited in July in order to place it under more comprehensive air quality and groundwater regulations.
The city is also battling Republic Services in court over a separate lawsuit involving alleged environmental violations. The city has also issued seven environmental violations since March of this year, which officials said make an expansion concerning.
Rumpke establishes odor hotline to address public concerns amid expansion request
Residents near Rumpke’s Montgomery County landfill in Kentucky have raised concerns about odors and traffic as the company advances plans to expand the landfill by 184 acres. The landfill has an estimated eight years of remaining capacity, and the proposed expansion would add another 36 years.
Rumpke has said it has odor control measures in place and plans to expand those measures, the company told Fox 56. Rumpke recently set up an odor report hotline for residents to report complaints.
The landfill receives about 700 tons of material per day from 30 counties. It has less than eight years of capacity remaining.
Rumpke’s landfill property is a total of 353 acres, with 97.25 acres permitted for waste disposal. The expansion plan would increase the landfill’s footprint within the borders of the land it already owns but not expand outside that, the company said.
In November, a Montgomery County Fiscal Court denied Rumpke’s expansion request and sent it back to the county’s solid waste board for further review, according to the Mt. Sterling Advocate.
A public meeting about the proposed expansion plans is scheduled for Jan. 11.
Other landfill news
- County commissioners in Mobile County, Alabama, voted to reject WM's proposed expansion of the Chastang Landfill. The proposal would have increased the amount of waste accepted at the facility from 1,725 tons per day to 5,000 tons per day. (AL.com)
- Opponents to Republic Services' expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill in Oregon have filed a notice of intent to appeal the approval of the company's proposal. The appeal would be considered by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. (Salem Statesman Journal)
- El Paso, Texas, is investing $20 million to construct six new cells at the Greater El Paso Landfill, which receives between 1,500 and 2,000 tons of waste per day. The expansion will add about 65 acres of landfill, which is expected to provide 12 years of capacity. (KFOX 14)
- Officials in Seneca Falls, New York, voted to approve a host community agreement and leachate management agreement with Seneca Meadows Landfill, which is owned by Waste Connections. The landfill has been the site of a contentious expansion proposal, and residents expressed concern about the proposed leachate system's PFAS destruction capabilities. (Finger Lakes 1)
- The Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority is preparing a $27 million bond measure to expand the Savannah River Site landfill in Edgefield County, South Carolina. The 280-acre site accepts waste from nine counties, and must prepare a new cell to add about 13 years of life, according to officials. (The Post and Courier)
- Elkhart County, Indiana, is soliciting bids for two projects to expand its landfill by 20 acres. The county estimates each cell will cost about $3 million to operate. (Ink Free News)
- The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy proposed a $20,000 fine against the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority. The fine and associated administrative consent order seek to address the authority's improper disposal of asbestos-containing waste in the Delta County Landfill. (MLive)
