Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 19, 1990 TAG: 9007190493
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Delays in getting a planned expansion to the interim landfill approved by the state Department of Waste Management has left the joint solid waste management board - made up of Pulaski County, Radford and the towns of Dublin and Pulaski - without a place to put waste when the current fill area reaches capacity.
Because the southern expansion will not be approved and operational by September, the authority has asked the waste management department to let it extend the fill area to within 350 feet of nearby homes. In March, the department approved filling to within 450 feet but has not acted on a June 25 request to allow filling to the 350-foot mark.
Faced with reaching the 450-foot distance soon, the authority's seven-member board voted unanimously to declare an emergency situation and have staff pursue three alternatives, two of which could ultimately come to legal action against the Department of Waste Management.
Charles Maus, the authority's executive director, will proceed with an application for a variance to the 450-foot buffer area; try to get approval to construct an earthen berm that would allow higher filling of waste; and investigate shipping the waste to other disposal sites, likely in North Carolina or the new Chambers landfill in Charles City County.
All three of the alternatives would require approval from the Department of Waste Management, Maus said. Given the delays the authority has faced in getting approval of the variance and expansion plans, "we may have to take some legal action," against the state agency, he said, concerning the variance and the berm.
Frustration over the delays was apparent throughout Maus' presentation to the board and during remarks from John Olver, project engineer.
"I'm optimistic the permit will be issued for the southern expansion," Olver said, adding that the delays could be because the interim site was only the second landfill being permitted under the new, stricter landfill regulations adopted by the state.
The southern expansion permitting process has involved "a lot of stops and starts," Maus said, including three different sets of design and operation manuals.
"Our intent is to cooperate and to get a permit," Olver said, but the expansion will not be in time to avoid reaching capacity at the current fill area before September.
The variance would mean the landfill could take in 6,000 more tons of waste without a cost increase. The berm would allow for 51,000 more tons of garbage, result in $350,000 in increased operating costs and extend the interim landfill life by 15 months with the Southern expansion. But building the berm would mean removing a row of trees in front of a fire break and other trees that screen the landfill from at least one home. Shipping the waste to other landfills would cost $50 per ton or $300,000 for 6,000 tons. Maus also pointed out this would put six to seven tractor trailers on the highways with waste from the authority, making round trips of about 600 miles.
Robert Asbury, Radford city manager and an authority board member, made the motion to allow Maus and legal counsel to pursue the three alternatives. By declaring an emergency, it allows the authority to work under an emergency procurement act that would mean it could sidestep requirements on advertising for bids to construct the berm.
Maus said he would pursue all three alternatives and report any progress to the board at its August meetings.
by CNB