Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Area Landfill Discussed

Most will agree landfills are needed, but no one wants one in their backyard, so to speak.

A public meeting was held Tuesday, Nov. 24, sponsored by the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District. The meeting, held at Gurdon's City Hall, was to give the public the opportunity to speak their mind about having a landfill constructed in Clark County.

The landfill would, specifically, be in the southern part of the county, between Gurdon and Curtis near Highway 67.

Larry Williams, president of the board, gave those present some background on the solid waste district, how Clark, Garland and Hot Spring counties make up the district.

Briefly, he talked about a lawsuit the district filed, and won, against Saline County after the county attempted to raise the tipping fees and violating the contractual agreement.

The district, he said, found another landfill, BFI of Little Rock, to handle its garbage, but this contract is being challenged by Saline County. According to the new suit, the Southwest District can't transport its solid waste across the boundaries of a bordering district.

Annually, Williams said, the district generates 123,965 tons of garbage with 10 percent of this diverted for recycling purposes. The rest is buried in landfills.

Because of the problems the district has had with the removal of solid waste, the board of directors agreed to look into the feasibility of constructing a class 1 landfill within the three- county area.

The best site, based on soil conditions and location, was the site between Gurdon and Curtis.

Bill Fletcher, with B&F Engineering of Hot Springs, said his firm has looked at dozens of sites in the region and done experimental work on some of them.

While the Clark County site isn't as centrally located as the district would like, it has the classic characteristics needed for a class 1 landfill.

Owen Carpenter, also with B&F, went more in depth with his explanation.

He said the need for a landfill has been established, but finding the right location required several factors being in place simultaneously. This included finding a site with the proper geological structure, be accessible and be for sale.

The site in southern Clark County, he said, has large deposits of thick clay on top of layers of thick clay.

The next best site was in Hot Spring County, but the clay deposits were much smaller.

Once the site was found, research into it was begun. Landfills, by law, can't affect archeological sites, endangered wildlife or plant life or be within 5,000 feet of small airports.

This 159 acre site met all criteria.

Oh, yes, landfills can't be within 100 year flood planes. This area isn't, unless a flood of near biblical proportions occurs.

Landfills, Carpenter said, are big business today. On average each person generates a ton of garbage annually.

The board agreed to proceed with the certificate of need, the first step in getting a permit for a landfill. Williams said the certificate contains letters sent to the appropriate state and federal agencies along with all groups involved.

Fletcher informed the gathering it costs about $5 million to construct a landfill at this time, and takes about 3 to 4 years to build depending on problems encountered and any litigation brought forth.

However, he said the district has a good contract at this time with BFI, and it is cheaper to take the garbage there than it would to the site in Clark County, depending on the outcome of the Saline County lawsuit.

Williams, though, pointed out the district has no intention of actually building a landfill at this time. The idea, he said, is to obtain the property and get it permitted as the costs are continually escalating and the permit procedure getting more and more difficult because of state and federal regulations.

Having the land and permit, he said, will give the district leverage when its contract with BFI runs out.

It will mean, he continued, the district has a powerful bargaining chip to play during negotiations.

Clark County Judge Grady Runyan pointed out getting the landfill permitted will not entail the assessment of any new taxes, as members of the district will be required to pay tipping fees when they dump their refuse off. These tipping fees, he said, will pay off the bond issue involved.

The bond issue will most likely be handled by the Arkansas Soil and Water Commission.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said the suit against Saline County saved residents in the district about $800,000, but if at all possible, the district won't build a landfill.

He called getting the land permitted an "insurance policy" to safeguard the district and its citizenry in the future.

The board agreed to proceed with the purchasing of the land and permitting process.