The Rapid City, SD Landfill is running out of space. But a nearly $7 million project at the 360-acre facility just southwest of S.D. Highway 79 and East Catron Boulevard is being fast-tracked to ensure its continued usability for the next two decades.
On Jan. 2, the Rapid City Council authorized the landfill to begin advertising for bids from interested contractors for a project to create two additional cells in an approximately 50-acre triangular plot west of the landfill’s recycling center.
The project, which will occur in two phases and is expected to be completed in August, includes soil removal, installation of a plastic liner and leachate collection and disposal. The relocation of some power lines will also be necessary.
“There’s a lot of upfront (costs) here but it is an investment in the future,” said Karl Merbach, superintendent of the city-owned landfill, in an interview Thursday. Currently, the landfill has one operating cell remaining with about a year of usability left.
The first phase, Merbach said, will add about 10 years of life to the landfill, which accepts about 450 tons of garbage per day. The second phase would add another 10 to 12 years of usability.
Then, Merbach explained, comes the installation of a plastic liner, which will cost about $1.5 million and ensure that any water that comes into contact with the garbage doesn’t seep into groundwater sources. Piping and detention ponds will be installed and constructed to store the runoff water.
Of the $6.8 million, about $4.7 million will come from the Solid Waste Department’s undesignated cash fund. The remaining $2.1 million will come from the department’s collection fund. In 2016, the landfill ended with a $345,457 surplus after it collected $6,708,840 against $6,363,383 in expenses, according to city Finance Director Pauline Sumption.
As for the landfill’s future in, say, 2038 — when Cell 18 and 19 are likely to be nearing their capacity — Merbach mentioned a 106-acre plot just south of the landfill which the city purchased 14 years ago and could add another 30 years of life to the landfill.
On Jan. 2, the Rapid City Council authorized the landfill to begin advertising for bids from interested contractors for a project to create two additional cells in an approximately 50-acre triangular plot west of the landfill’s recycling center.
The project, which will occur in two phases and is expected to be completed in August, includes soil removal, installation of a plastic liner and leachate collection and disposal. The relocation of some power lines will also be necessary.
“There’s a lot of upfront (costs) here but it is an investment in the future,” said Karl Merbach, superintendent of the city-owned landfill, in an interview Thursday. Currently, the landfill has one operating cell remaining with about a year of usability left.
The first phase, Merbach said, will add about 10 years of life to the landfill, which accepts about 450 tons of garbage per day. The second phase would add another 10 to 12 years of usability.
“We’re digging a big hole in the ground,” he deadpanned of the first phase. The soil removal will cost $2.5 million.
Then, Merbach explained, comes the installation of a plastic liner, which will cost about $1.5 million and ensure that any water that comes into contact with the garbage doesn’t seep into groundwater sources. Piping and detention ponds will be installed and constructed to store the runoff water.
While the request to begin advertising for bids has passed through the council, the supplemental appropriation for the project has yet to come before the council. The first consideration and public hearing for the funding source will come before the city’s Legal and Finance Committee on Wednesday.
Of the $6.8 million, about $4.7 million will come from the Solid Waste Department’s undesignated cash fund. The remaining $2.1 million will come from the department’s collection fund. In 2016, the landfill ended with a $345,457 surplus after it collected $6,708,840 against $6,363,383 in expenses, according to city Finance Director Pauline Sumption.
As for the landfill’s future in, say, 2038 — when Cell 18 and 19 are likely to be nearing their capacity — Merbach mentioned a 106-acre plot just south of the landfill which the city purchased 14 years ago and could add another 30 years of life to the landfill.
To read the full story, visit http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/m-landfill-expansion-planned/article_ac5e5a02-0c5a-5319-b4db-c234a2be5025.html.