Management from the IESI Bethlehem landfill reviewed their 29-acre expansion plan for the Steel City site at a meeting hosted by state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials.
Landfill officials addressed questions from Lower Saucon Township council members and affected area residents at the Se-Wy-Co Fire Company hall in Lower Saucon Township.
IESI officials said their proposed realignment project includes a near six-acre lateral expansion at the southeastern end of the landfill and the addition of 23 acres using a "piggy-back" membrane liner system that places fresh garbage atop old waste in order to increase dumping capacity.
Pennsylvania IESI District Manager Sam Donato and Consulting Engineer to IESI Rick Bodnar of Martin and Martin Engineers of Chambersburg said they were confident the planning, research, and technological innovations of the piggy-back liner system would prohibit another landslide to occur similar to the one that happened several years ago at the Chrin landfill in Williams Township.
Bodnar said landfill liners now are based on long-term values and not just on capacity strength.
DEP Environmental Program Manager Roger Bellas said, "We consider long term stability and looked at what happened when the Chrin landfill liner system failed."
He said when waste is already in place a system has to be designed to bring it up to date and make it compliant.
Donato remarked about the proposed expansion, "There will be no increase in our daily volume intake as a result of this project."
He said the Bethlehem landfill takes in 1,375 tons of waste daily.
He added IESI will only be working on five acres at a time including the extraction of active gases and will expand the work area as the project moves forward.
Bodnar noted the new proposal provides for one gas well per acre of land.
Residents living near the landfill concerned about foul odors emanating from the site's western end asked why this area is still yet uncapped and suggested a temporary cap be installed especially to reduce odor.
Lower Saucon's consulting engineer on landfill matters Lauressa McNemar inquired if capping the western end could become an official part of the expansion proposal.
Bellas said in order to gain his department's approval on the project the benefits to the community must outnumber the list of harms.
He explained the landfill project is a combination of engineering and benefits and harms analysis, and if state requirements for the site continue to be met, the landfill can continue to operate.
Tracy McGurk, facilities supervisor for the DEP said IESI's application will be accepted by the state later this week to be followed by a 60-day pubic comment period which may prompt the DEP to call for another public meeting.
IESI officials first introduced the project last July, and approval is expected to take 13 months.
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