Waste area plan OK'd

A request to expand a Washington County landfill has been approved by state officials.

Abe's Trash Service Inc. will be allowed to increase its construction and demolition waste landfill to 48 acres from 24 acres. The landfill is located on Dutch Hall Road, about a half-mile from Little Papillion Creek, which feeds into Cunningham Lake.

Under state law, concrete, brick, lumber, shingles and other solid materials are allowed in construction and demolition waste landfills. The standards for testing such landfills are less stringent than for municipal sites, which require liners and well testing.

Neighbors fought the landfill expansion because they feared the trash hauler cannot control the types of waste placed in construction site receptacles and that dangerous fluids could filter into groundwater.

Pam Daly, a Washington County resident, has said liners and well monitors should be required at construction and demolition landfills, too.

David Haldeman, administrator of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, said Abe's submitted adequate documentation “verifying that the proposed facility expansion will be constructed and operated in compliance with all the terms and conditions” required by the state.

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com