Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990                   TAG: 9007120248
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

REGIONAL LANDFILL USE GROWS

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 Wednesday the state agency has agreed that the site is "technically acceptable" for disposal of solid waste. It was excluded from the original permit because the state was concerned about the possible contamination of wells.

He estimated that the landfill's life would be extended by about five to seven years.

Consultants now will 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 the state has many pending applications.

A public hearing will be required, 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 technically will be an expansion of the existing landfill, must meet the state's new standards for landfills.

The board faces a tight schedule 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 by garbage trucks, 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. 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 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.