County moves forward with landfill

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The Weston County Solid Waste District has completed a land trading process with the state of Wyoming and is moving forward with establishing access to the county wide landfill. 
In April 2019, the News Letter Journal reported that Trihydro Corp., the environmental engineering consultant hired by the district, was directed to perform a GIS, or geographic information system, survey to find a tract of land unencumbered by airports, roads, houses or other landmarks designated by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The purpose of the survey was to find a piece of land that the county could use for a landfill.
Ed WagOner, the chairman of the solid waste district board, said at the time that the survey was needed because a previous tract of land considered by the district had title issues.
The result of the survey, board member Bob Hartley explained in September of 2020, turned up a 160-acre parcel of land owned by the state, located about 3 miles south of Newcastle, that fit all the prerequisites of the Wyoming DEQ, including the land’s proximity to houses, waterways and highways. 
“This parcel of land is outside of the school section and seems like the ideal location, so we began looking at the best way to acquire the land,” Hartley said. “The best option is to trade land with the state. So, we went and purchased some property down Old Highway 85 that is too close to homes and would not meet the criteria (set by the DEQ). We then went to the state of Wyoming and are now in the process of trading that ground.” 
He said that the initial exchange agreement has been approved and the State Board of Land Commissioners has agreed to start the land transfer process. Hartley said that while the process takes time, the state has agreed to let the district proceed with geotechnical testing on the site. 
“In that process, we have drilled on the site to make sure the soils would be beneficial to a landfill, and they were. We have installed some initial monitor wells, and the consultant is starting the environmental process and we have received some initial reports,” Hartley said. The initial report is 189 pages, he said. 
Also included in the process, according to Hartley, is applying for an easement across the state school section of land and that the easement is under review. The easement would allow the solid waste district to have its own access road to the landfill and the ability to maintain it to their standards.
Now that this process is complete, Hartley said, the board  will gather bids to construct the access road to the land. These bids will be open on July 14 during the board’s regular meeting. 
“We have gotten a lot accomplished,” he said. “We also have an engineer working with the DEQ to get the permit process started.” 
The first stage of this process, according to Hartley, is drilling monitor wells around the future landfill. The drilling should take place sometime in late July. 
“Then, behind that, sometime next year we will work on the permitting process to get all of the permits through the DEQ. Once those are secured, we will start the actual construction,” Hartley said. “Before we can start this, we have to get the road in there with all-weather access to the site for monitoring and drilling the wells.” 
While the board originally hoped to have the landfill up and running by the current Newcastle landfill’s closure date in 2022, Hartley said that the timeline depends on the DEQ and that they are currently negotiating a time frame on background well monitoring. 
“They are wanting about two years of background sampling, but there is a possibility we can shorten it to a year,” Hartley said. “We are hoping to do that, but the earliest we can get it is probably sometime late 2022.”
Because of this, both Hartley and City Engineer Mike Moore said that the city is hoping to work with the department to extend the permit for Newcastle Landfill No. 2. 
“I talked to the DEQ, and they said that is not a concern and they are aware of the issue. What is more of a concern is whether we will have enough capacity,” Moore told the City Council on May 17. “If we don’t, we will have to come up with an alternative plan.” 
Despite the concern, Moore said that he believes the current landfill space will be sufficient but that closure costs could increase if another pit is required. 
“The good news is, we should be able to operate it until the other landfill opens,” he said. 
Hartley said he hopes that the county board can continue to move the process forward as quickly as possible while making sure all the paperwork and permitting is properly completed in a timely manner. 
“We are moving as quickly as the DEQ will let us,” Hartley said. 
“It all really takes a lot of work. You have to satisfy the state from an environmental standpoint and a historical standpoint. You have to satisfy the feds (federal government) when it comes to wetlands and other things. We are working on all of those things at the same time, while being cautious about how we are spending the public funds,” Hartley said. “We want this landfill to be for the betterment of the whole county.” 
Hartley said that Trihydro has predicted that the landfill could serve county residents for more than 200 years if it is limited to local waste collection only.  Hartley said, however, that the board will consider opening the landfill to outside use. 
“We are trying to look a long way into the future. Future citizens won’t have to go through this for a while,” Hartley said. “At the same time, we are also trying to be cognizant of the tipping rate so (that) it is economical for the people to use the landfill. That is very important. Hopefully, we can keep it lower than the current tipping rate in Newcastle.” 
The current rate, according to City Clerk-Treasurer Greg James is six cents a pound with a variety of other items, including metal, being taken for free. 
Part of looking at Weston County as a whole, Hartley said, has included the discussion about transfer sites in Upton and Osage. 
“We feel it is important to have a site up there, where those people can haul their solid waste to a local location,” Hartley said. “We could then have roll-offs that haul it to the landfill site.” 
With a remote location off of U.S. Highway 85, Hartley said, the only thing that will be visible from the highway may be buildings. 
“It is out of view to the public with where it is located, and the soil and everything is ideal,” Hartley said. “I think this is a landfill the public can be proud of and something that can benefit the entire county for years to come.”