Dive Brief:
- Rutherford County, TN officials are discussing plans to prevent their two landfills from leaking leachate into the nearby Stones River. Earlier this week, the County Commission Public Works & Planning Committee endorsed a plan to spend $100,000 on a system that will collect the leachate, and another $100,000 to treat and dispose of the leachate.
- Mac Nolen, who oversees operations of Rutherford’s landfills, is working with TriAD Environmental to address the issues and told Daily News Journal that, pending creation of the collection design this year, construction will begin shortly after. The completion of the project would be funded in 2017, using reserves from the department budget.
- Committee recommendations must be approved by all 21 members of the County Commission, scheduled to meet March 17.
Dive Insight:
Landfills that leak leachate into the groundwater are a headache for both the landfill operators and the county officials who are responsible for keeping nearby residents safe. In Georgia, a bill was passed by the House to force the state to report leaking landfills to all residents and municipalities after a leak from the Broadhurst Environmental Landfill went unreported for years.
One of Rutherford County's landfills closed in 1994, but now the municipality has to find a way to fund treating the leachate before it is disposed of. Determining the best way to dispose of leachate can take years, and depending on the complexity, can even involve the federal government.
Rutherford has some serious considerations in its current situation. "We do not have a good collection system now," said Nolen, noting that Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recently found the county in violation for the leachate problems.
A meeting regarding the plans was held on Thursday night, however the results of the meeting have not yet been released. Waste Dive will update the story with any developments.
