Massachusetts landfill operator requests expansion

A solid waste district in Massachusetts is seeking to install a new landfill cell so it can provide disposal services for its members at a significant discount compared to market rates.

The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District, which provides waste and recycling services to New Bedford and Dartmouth, Massachusetts, is requesting the construction of Cell 7 at the Crapo Hill Landfill in Dartmouth it operates.

The district says the Crapo Hill Landfill currently saves its member communities an estimated $3.2 million per year and has accrued for them more than $78 million in disposal savings since it opened in 1995.

"These savings directly benefit local taxpayers and municipal budgets while supporting essential public services," the district says in a fact sheet on its website.

The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District is offering a Sept. 13 tour of the landfill area as it prepares to make its case for the expansion,

In its fact sheet, the district says the Crapo Hill Landfill is an active, fully lined (i.e., contained) facility, adding that Cell 7 is part of a long-standing plan and is part of the originally proposed landfill capacity that has always been anticipated by the district.

The landfill also hosts a landfill gas-to-energy system and on-site electric power plant operated by CommonWealth New Bedford Energy LLC.

“Cell 7 will remain fully within the landfill’s approved site boundaries and within the district’s Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)-approved total landfill area,” the district says.

Cell 7 is expected to occupy about 3.5 acres of land and to extend the Crapo Hill Landfill’s life by at least seven years.

Currently, the landfill is permitted to accept up to 574 tons of MSW per day, although the district says it typically accepts less than this to preserve landfill capacity for future use and to continue the associated financial benefits being provided.

In addition to the Sept. 13 tour, the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District says on its website that it welcomes and values comments from the public related to this Cell 7 permit application.

The district indicates it is accepting comments online and via United States Postal Service until Sept. 30. Comments must relate to the proposed Cell 7 project and its potential environmental, community or operational impacts. A summary based on those comments will be posted on the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District website so the community can see how comments were addressed.