By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County’s landfill continues to be filling up faster than expected.
When 2016 rolled around, it looked as if the existing permitted space at the landfill would last another 11 years. By last summer, that remaining lifespan had shortened to eight to 10 years. And by Tuesday, that time had shrunk to six or seven years.
The news was presented to the county commissioners on Tuesday by landfill staff and consultants.
Since it takes a few years for any landfill expansion to be approved by the Ohio EPA, work is being done now to get the process going.
The entire landfill area is close to 300 acres. Of that, 45 acres are permitted right now for use. It’s that space that has six or seven years left. The requested expansion will be for 65 acres to the north of the current area being used.
The first phase of the proposed expansion would “piggyback” on top of a section already being used. The landfill is allowed to reach a height just over 100 feet.
Bill Petruzzi, of Hull and Associates consulting firm, said a place to put trash is a treasure.
“Wood County has continued to provide such a good service to the community,” Petruzzi told the county commissioners on Tuesday.
In the last three decades, the number of licensed landfills in Ohio has dropped from 197 to 37, he said. Of those, more than half are private.
“All along, Wood County has always done the right thing,” Petruzzi said. “You provide a needed service at a low price.”
The county landfill has never been a “dump,” he added. Operations there have always met standards for liners, caps, water quality, gas monitoring and compacting. Attention has always been given to “safety, human health and the environment,” he said.
“You’ve done good planning. I think you’re in very good shape,” Petruzzi told the commissioners.
But efforts to expand should not be delayed.
The reason for the faster filling is three-fold, according to last year’s presentation to the county commissioners. First, the Henry County landfill closed, resulting in much of the garbage from that neighboring county coming to Wood County. Second, as the economy rebounds, the increase in new construction creates more debris, and people tend to buy new items and throw out the old, rather than stretching out their usefulness. And third, improvements at Wood County Landfill are making it more attractive to waste haulers, said Ken Vollmar, landfill superintendent.
The Wood County Landfill received 38,000 tons of trash in 2014, which jumped to 49,000 tons in 2015. The tonnage was expected to top off over 60,000 tons last year.
As waste degrades, it generates methane gas and leachate – which the county has worked to monitor. Nearly 30 wells have been installed throughout the site to monitor stormwater runoff, explosive gas and groundwater.
Wood County has also done well meeting EPA standards for water and gas monitoring, according to Shawn McGee of Hull and Associates.
The monitoring wells check water at different depths, varying from 20 to 80 feet deep, McGee said.
In the past, landfills were located in areas that would drain into rivers or aquifers, so the leachate would leak and be diluted, Petruzzi explained. That proved to be detrimental to the environment. Wood County’s landfill site is ideal with thick glacial soils, which should prevent leachate from migrating from the landfill, he added.
