Residents on alert as Cleburne County considers reopening landfill

Jun. 12—ARBACOOCHEE — Closed since 1994 due to tighter federal regulations, the Cleburne County landfill may reopen to receive construction and demolition waste. The county could earn new income as a result, but some residents fear the effect it might have on local water supplies.

The Cleburne County Commission will vote at its next meeting June 15 to look into the feasibility of giving the shuttered 105-acre landfill a new lease on life, commission Chairman Ryan Robertson said last week.

The landfill was opened in the 1970s and was closed when federal regulations changed to require a liner be installed to keep contaminants from leaching into the groundwater. One of 14 monitoring wells on the site currently detects contaminants in the groundwater that slightly exceed the standards for safe drinking water.

Cleburne County Commissioner Laura Cobb said this week that the idea of reopening the landfill caught her by surprise.

"I'm kind of in shock over this ... there's a lot more to it than just opening it up. The cost, for one," Cobb said. The total startup cost for the landfill could reach as high as $1 million for equipment and employees to run the facility, she said.

Cobb said there should be a public hearing to notify the residents in the vicinity of the landfill and solicit their input.

"I just think we are taking on a risk for our county that we do not need to do," Cobb said.

Possible revenue from reopened landfill

Earlier this month at a work session, Mike Doran, principal scientist with Southeastern Environmental Compliance, told the commissioners the landfill could be easily reopened once the county gets the appropriate permits from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The county contracts with Southeastern Environmental Compliance to oversee monitoring of the landfill.

Doran said reopening the landfill would be a "definite" source of revenue.

Neighboring Calhoun County charges $26 a ton to dispose of construction and demolition-type waste, or C&D, at its landfill, Doran said.

If Cleburne County charged the same and only did 25 percent of the volume of Calhoun County, that would equate to $228,000 per year, according to Doran. At 35 percent, that figure would be $320,000.

In nearby Georgia, it costs $37 per ton, Doran said, who added that Calhoun County is considering raising its rates due to an increased volume of debris following cleanups after tornadoes and home remodeling carried out during the pandemic.

Concerns over water quality

When the landfill closed in 1994, it was capped with three feet of compacted clay to prevent rainwater from seeping into the landfill itself.

In 2015, repairs to the clay cap were completed along with other improvements to make sure rainwater stayed out of the landfill, Doran said.

The EPA requires nearly all municipal solid waste landfills to monitor the underlying groundwater for contamination during the active life of the landfill and after it closes.

ADEM currently requires groundwater monitoring at the Cleburne County landfill twice a year, in March and September. There are 22 monitoring wells at the Cleburne County landfill, 14 of which are currently checked for 16 metals and 47 volatile organic compounds — the "Appendix 1 list," in technical terms.

In addition to groundwater wells, there are 14 explosive gas monitoring wells at the landfill, monitored once a year, Doran said.

In 1993-94, the east side of the landfill was a problematic area for a number of volatile organic compounds, and "a handful of them exceeded groundwater protection standards," Doran said.

Today, the eastern portion of the landfill is no longer a concern, but on the west side of the landfill one monitoring well has detected four VOCs that are "just barely at the groundwater protection standard," Doran said.

Groundwater quality is improving, Doran said.

"I don't think that ADEM will require any further corrective action at this site," he said.

The water underneath the landfill moves very slowly, about three to four feet each year, and Doran said the improvements to the landfill completed in 2015 should start showing up in 2022.

"We'll see a continuous decrease over the next eight to 10 years in concentrations of any type of chemicals of concern at all," Doran said.

Cattle farmers have beef with reopening

Rex Nolen's sprawling 321-acre cattle farm is about a mile from the landfill on County Road 42. Nolen was a member of a citizens group PRIDE (People Resisting Increased Deceptive Encounters), which in 1995 opposed the county's plans to open a regional landfill south of the old landfill.

Nolen said he was OK with a construction and demolition landfill as long as it did not disturb the original landfill with its clay cap.

Nolen said he hopes the landfill is only open to county residents, recalling the days when trucks would rumble at all hours of the night hauling trash from Atlanta.

"Who knows what's in a dump truck full of debris?" Nolen asked.

Nolen also worries about contamination underfoot in the groundwater, adding that cadmium has been detected in his well water but it's within "acceptable standards."

Nolen said the aquifer under the landfill flows south to populated areas where some residents still use well water as their only source of water.

LeAnne Redding Nolen, a resident on Cleburne County Road 75, is also worried about the consequences of the landfill reopening.

Nolen lives across from the landfill and uses a well for her water, she explained in a written statement to The Star.

"My father-in-law passed away with cancer several years ago. While I do not have any proof that it had to do anything with our well water on this road, it makes me wonder," she wrote.

"If they do reopen the landfill, it should be mandatory that water lines are run on this road or any other road close by, with no cost for the citizens," Nolen wrote.

Cattle farmer Larry Braden lives on property adjoining the old landfill along Alabama 46, and he said he's ready to fight to keep it closed.

"That former landfill is located directly behind my house, and I've got 130 acres there with cattle drinking water out of the creek on the backside, which would actually border the landfill property," Braden said.

Braden also owns a barn across the creek from the landfill that he rents out as a wedding venue.

"I don't want it there ... and I'll do what I've got to do to prevent it," Braden said. "They say you can't fight city hall but I have an attorney already and I'll probably end up at a commissioners meeting."

Acceptable and unacceptable waste

If the landfill is reopened, Doran told the commission that acceptable waste would be "piggybacked" by spreading it over the existing clay cap that covers the older municipal waste.

Acceptable waste, according to Doran, would include storm debris, household rubbish, yard waste, waste building materials, packaging, remodeling waste, rubble from construction, masonry, sheet rock, scrap metal, wood products, insulation, uncontaminated concrete, soil, roofing waste, brick, wood ash from untreated wood and waste asphalt paving, old furniture and mattresses.

"It's the safest material you can put in the ground," he said. "These materials going in are not hazardous by nature, do not leach significant chemicals and they're not a significant contaminant source to cause problems."

Every week, soil would cover the new waste and be compacted by heavy equipment.

"It creates a barrier for rainfall to get into the municipal waste below it," Doran said.

Waste that would not be accepted at the landfill would include household and commercial garbage, liquid waste, sludge, wet paints, liquid chemicals, electronics, creosote treated lumber, any type of waste oils, animals, hazardous materials, batteries and bulbs, Doran said.

Staff writer Bill Wilson: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @bwilson_star.