Georgia commissioners approve plans to open C&D landfill

The Augusta, Georgia, Commission voted to begin revisions on the city’s waste management plans to open a construction and demolition (C&D) landfill near the Augusta Regional Airport, a report by the Augusta Chronicle says.

Environmental Services Director Mark Johnson, who was the chief writer of the 2008 waste management plan the city is currently using, opposed the proposal, saying it was a drain on revenue and would cause major impact on the city’s waste management, according to the report. The current plan requires all waste go to the city landfill.

Johnson also said the city landfill has 140 years of capacity left and the proposal could affect the city’s bonding rate, as well as require a special zoning exception, the report says. The project is under a mile from the airport, which goes against the current solid waste management plan’s rule of forbidding landfills to operate within 10,000 feet of a runway.

Attorney Wright McLeod pitched the proposal on behalf of the current owner of the landfill site, Kirk Laney. Laney purchased the 150-acre site in 2015. According to the report, McLeod said during the proposal that the project would capture about a third of the city’s C&D waste and would help haulers and builders, who base disposal decisions on distance and cost.

The current waste management plan is up for renewal in 2018, the report says.