County Considers Two Options for Prairie View Landfill Expansion

Prairie View landfill could extend its lifespan by up to 35 additional years under expansion plans presented to the county’s landfill committee on Wednesday.

Consultant Marty Fallon outlined two potential expansion strategies that would either build vertically on the existing footprint or combine vertical growth with a horizontal expansion to the northeast.

“We’ve generated dozens of different iterations of concept designs,” said Fallon, an operations manager with Geologic Associates who has spent 25 years designing and permitting waste management infrastructure. “We’ve come to a consensus to site both a vertical expansion option and a horizontal and vertical expansion option and to run those parallel.”

The existing landfill has approximately nine years of capacity remaining at current filling rates. The vertical-only option would add approximately 24.5 years, while the combined vertical and horizontal expansion would provide about 35 years total.

Both options would increase the landfill’s height by approximately 170 feet from its currently permitted elevation, bringing the peak to 965 feet above sea level. According to calculations presented at the meeting, this would make the landfill approximately 320 feet high from its base.

The horizontal expansion would require relocating a 1.4 million cubic yard soil stockpile currently stored in the northeastern portion of the property. Fallon noted that finding an off-site location for this material would be necessary before proceeding with that option.

“The closer the better because it is a lot of soil. It’s going to be a lot of trucks, a lot of excavation, a lot of loading,” Fallon said when questioned about potential sites for relocating the soil.

To advance both design options, Geologic Associates plans to conduct a site investigation beginning April 21, including nine new boring locations extending the grid established during the original late 1990s site assessment. This investigation will characterize the geology and collect data to ensure designs are “protective of public health, safety and welfare,” according to Fallon.

Committee member Van Dyke expressed concern about the increased height, but Fallon presented visual simulations suggesting the expanded landfill would remain largely obscured from surrounding roadways due to existing tree cover and setbacks.

“This site is really buffered very well from the perimeter roadways. Height shouldn’t really be that big of a deal for the committee,” Fallon said.

The development of a final application will be “a huge undertaking,” according to Fallon, potentially requiring a year to 18 months following completion of the geological investigation. The application will include detailed engineering calculations, geological modeling, operating plans, construction quality assurance plans, closure plans, traffic impact analysis and real estate impact studies.

Engineering aspects of the existing landfill, including the integrity of pipes that collect leachate (water that filters through the waste), have received preliminary review to verify they can support the additional weight of expanded waste storage.

During public comments, concerns were raised about garbage debris along roadways used by trucks traveling to and from the landfill. Committee member Butler noted complaints from the farming community about litter along transportation routes.

“I know we do have a county highway that goes from I-55 to Route 53 and is consistently littered with garbage,” said another community member. “I wish there was a way to figure out how to monitor these trucks or do a better job of covering them.”

The landfill committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 13, though Fallon indicated that complete testing results might not be available for “a couple of months.”