Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 11, 1990 TAG: 9007110501
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Virginia Department of Waste Management has given preliminary approval for the use of nearly 30 acres at the existing regional landfill near the Blue Ridge Parkway that wasn't included in the original landfill permit.
Consultant John Olver said today the state agency has agreed that the site is "technically acceptable" for the disposal of solid waste. It was excluded from the original permit because the state was concerned about the possible contamination of underground wells.
He estimated that it will extend the landfill's life by about five to seven years.
Consultants will now prepare detailed plans and an operating manual for use of the site as the second part of the permit application process.
Olver said he hopes the documents can be prepared by September, but it will probably take the state six to nine months to review them and grant a permit because it has many pending applications.
A public hearing will be required before the state grants a permit, he said.
"Hopefully, we could be ready to seek bids [for development of the site] by next summer," Olver told the regional landfill board.
The site, which will technically be an expansion of the existing landfill, must meet the state's new standards for landfills.
The board faces a tight schedule for getting the site ready for garbage disposal because the existing landfill will be full in about 18 months, he said.
The regional landfill serves Roanoke, Vinton and Roanoke County. Salem has a garbage incinerator and a separate landfill.
Meanwhile, Olver said he is proceeding with the permit application for the proposed new regional landfill at 640-acre Smith Gap, off Bradshaw Road near the Montgomery County line.
The state wants more test wells to be drilled on the Smith Gap site to determine if there is underground water.
"We didn't find any water when we did the earlier drilling, but they want us to drill five more wells," he said. "Right now, we don't see any significant problems."
To avoid the use of Bradshaw Road for garbage trucks going to the Smith Gap site, Roanoke County officials have been considering the construction of a road over Fort Lewis Mountain to reach the landfill. Cost estimates on the road have ranged as high as $8.7 million.
County officials also are looking into the possibility of transporting garbage to the site by railroad cars. Under this proposal, garbage would be loaded on rail cars at a transfer station along the Norfolk Southern railroad line in the Roanoke Valley and then would be shipped to the landfill.
Consultants will investigate the possibility of a railroad spur to the site when they study the costs for transporting trash and the feasibility of transfer stations.
by CNB