Landfill closure getting underway

Among the four main subjects following the town into 2024 is the final closure of Moorcroft's landfill and progress was recently the subject of discussion at a workshop ending 2023.

At this time, the dead animal, burn trench and the C&D pit are the only active waste points available to the public. HDR Engineering's Heath Turbiville had previously ascertained from the council their interest in retaining the construction dump site with the closure of the rest of the landfill.

"We've been thinking about steps moving forward and timing. Our current design on the closure will still incorporate the excavation needed for the cap to come from a future C&D pit and I think we can continue down that path and see what happens with funding and costs coming in," he said.

Councilman Austin Smith asked Turbiville to reiterate the timeline for the closure and the repercussions to the active pit accepting building waste. Turbiville explained what will happen now the town has funding: "Because of your funding being approved, you're going to go into a different form of [DEQ] permit that allows you to operate [the C&D pit] until the closure is complete."

The engineer assured his listeners the formal closure of the landfill should be complete, "by the end of next summer". He said the one significant issue holding up the permit at this point is the monitoring wells, "How [they're] going to be constructed in order to make everybody happy."