Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Building A Landfill Discussed

To build a landfill, or not build a landfill, this is the question plaguing the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste District.

The district currently has a contract with Saline County to handle its garbage. This contract, however, runs out in about two years and Saline County officials have expressed no interest in renewing it.

This poses a problem for the SWCRSD. Officials with the district are looking into the possibility of building a class I landfill of its own, finding another landfill to take its garbage to or possibly merge with the Upper Southwest Regional Solid Waste District.

Bill Fletcher, with the SWCRSD, said two possible sites have been located for class I landfills. Both locations are in South Clark County, near Gurdon. However, he said other sites were also examined as well.

Having a site for a landfill, he said, would be beneficial if the district returns to the bargaining table with Saline County. This, he told the panel, would give the district the position of negotiating with more power than it would otherwise have.

The best location for a landfill, Fletcher said, is one with a midway clay formation, where clay is predominant and thick. His top selection, of the two near Gurdon, is owned by Potlatch.

It's about 85 acres and borders property owned by Peggy Clark. This property, he said, is located about a mile- and-a-half west of Curtis.

The other location is owned by International Paper and is just north of Gurdon. However, IP has not been contacted yet about the district's interest in the property.

At this time Fletcher said Potlatch isn't interested in selling the land, but is willing to allow the district to do the necessary exploration work to see if the property would be a good location for a landfill.

He said the land owned by Clark and Potlatch would be adequate for a landfill, but couldn't say how long it would last. Fletcher said a minimum of 240 acres are needed for a class I landfill.

Topographically, he said, both sites are ideal for landfills. Each has drainage divides and good relief. Neither is overtly steep, nor flat. Both also have plenty of ravines.

The Potlatch property is about half covered in clearcut timber, while there could be a problem with the IP land. Fletcher said this site has timber which is the wrong age at this time to be cut.

But, he continued, the next step for the district is to see if the two sites do, in fact, have the midway clay formation. This means trench work will have to be done with a backhoe before drilling is begun.

One concern Fletcher had with the Potlatch site is the road to the land currently runs through the community of Curtis, with several people living in the area. He said a new road could be built if necessary.

Talking about the IP site, Fletcher said there are 1,200 acres in it, located about three miles north of Gurdon.

Because the city is on well water, he added, there should be no problem with ground water contamination from the landfill (if it's built on this property).

According to Fletcher, four other sites were looked at, with two in the Gum Springs area. However, none of these sites were in the midway clay formation, and more work would be required before going to the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology for a permit.

Helen Selig, Hot Springs mayor, said the district needs some financial information before it can proceed further, along with a target date on costs.

Fletcher said the cost would depend on the site, but either of the top choices will be good if the clay is right.

Garland County Judge Larry Williams suggested if there is no site by Sept. 1997 the district needs to drop the idea of a landfill and find another agency interested in doing business with it.

This could come in the form of the Upper Southwest District. Joe Ball, the director of the Upper Southwest, has been in contact with the Southwest Central district on a possible merger.

Georgia Pacific has expressed a desire to begin using garbage as fuel pellets for its plants. Officials with GP have contacted Ball and the Upper Southwest to supply these pellets.

However, the Upper Southwest doesn't generate enough garbage to supply GP's needs at this time, and has tentatively offered a joint effort with the Southwest Central district.

Joe Hughes, with the PC&E, reminded the panel of the need to keep the public informed of its decision. He said the Western District looked at a landfill site, but when it made a bid the public wasn't informed.

This caused the entire effort to be dropped because citizens opposed the idea.

Hughes said the Southwest Central group should form a citizens advisory committee for its plans, because public support is vital.

In other business, Bill Rinehart, with the PC&E, said the district's grant application was excellent and the money should be released soon.

Jim Goble, the district's tire recycling person, said progress is slow in cleaning up the Friendship site.

This, he said, is because the tires are in a gulley and a road had to be built to get to them. Tires have been dumped in this location for the past 30 years. Goble said they have been stacked neatly in the pit, though.

A grant for $90,000 was received from the PC&E to clean up the Caney site as well as the Friendship location. However, Goble said it may cost more to clean up Friendship than the district has money for at this time.

It was originally estimated, he told the group, there were 10,000 truck tires in the pit. But, after closer examination, he said there could be between 15,000 and 20,000 truck tires there.

If necessary, Goble continued, the district can reapply for grant money to clean the site up. However, he suggested renegotiating with Davis Tire, the contractor, when 10,000 tires have been removed, and use district funds to finish the job.

Along with the Friendship site, Goble said the district needs to clean up the site at Mill Creek Road in Garland County.

Changing the topic to the recycling center, Bob Venutti, director of the center, said he is keeping pressure on Ozark Recycling to find markets for newsprint, which are almost nonexistent at this time.

The district, he said, has a contract with Ozark Recycling to get rid of some of the paper, and has plans on selling 20 to 40 tons this month.

In addition, the PC&E is pressing cellulose companies coming into the state to help with the problem. Venutti said this may mean the district will have to give the paper away if the freight is paid for shipping.

This, he said, will keep the paper out of the landfills. "We're calling everyone we can to get rid of the paper."

Doyle Smith, also with the recycling effort, said there is no problem getting rid of aluminum, but ther