01-03-1985 Council Packet Special Meeting

Home Browse Search

Ail of the landfills that have operated in the Metropolitan Area since 1970 are contributing to environmental or potential health problems. Incidents include contamination of surface water, methane gas migration, and nuisances such as litter, noise and odor. Groundwater contamination has been detected at all sites, with varying degrees of severity. Groundwater contamination is of considerable concern. Two thirds of the region's water consumption is dependent on groundwater supplies. Existing landfills were designed in the early 19705 and do not use state-of-the-art environmental control technologies or practices. Existing and closed landfills are believed to generate currently over 60 million gallons of leachate, water, that has been contaminated by flowing through the waste. Although ne. land- fills would incorporate liners and leachate collection systems, recent studies indicate that even well designed systems allow at least 15 percent of leachate to escape. Groundwater contamination from leachate migration is difficult to detect, extremely difficult to control or correct and may continue for decades after facility closure. Public Costs The costs of development of a system of new landfills could be staggering. Average cost per landfill would be $20 to $30 million, with some facilities costing as much as $50 million. Loss of tax base is a potential indirect cost. Added costs can result if groundwater contamination requires cleanup. Costs of several million dollars for cleanup of a facility and surrounding environment are not unusual. It is estimated that approximately 7.5 million tons of recyclable materials will be generated over the next 16 years. Continuation of landfilling would waste the value of these materials and potential revenues derived from them. The energy value of mixed municipal waste would also be lost. As a corollary, current practices dictate ongoing consumption of raw materials and fuels that could be replaced through recycling and resource recovery, with savings in production costs, processing and environmental impacts of raw material use.