MRR of Connecticut involved in Kentucky landfill plan

A Cleveland-based company that focuses on acquiring, reclaiming and repurposing coal mine properties in the Appalachian region has made two acquisitions in Kentucky that could lead to a landfill development project.

Range Impact Inc. has acquired the Premier Elkhorn mine complex and the Cambrian Coal mine complex, former coal mining sites located in eastern Kentucky. In connection with the two acquisitions, Range Impact's newly formed Range Bluegrass subsidiary has entered into an option agreement with a firm it names as MRR CNG LLC.

A late December Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by Range Impact identifies MRR as a Connecticut limited liability company engaged in the business of waste sorting and recycling for residential and commercial customers throughout the eastern United States, fitting the description of Murphy Road Recycling (MRR) and affiliated business units.

MRR is part of a collection of New England companies led by the Antonacci family that also includes All American Waste and USA Hauling and Recycling.

Range Impact says the option agreement grants MRR the option to acquire approximately 1,500 acres of surface land at the Premier Elkhorn Mine Complex for the future development and operation of a new waste disposal facility.

The company also has entered into consulting agreements with MRR and its affiliate F&G LLC, which likely refers to MRR business unit F&G Recycling, which collects, sorts and recycles discarded construction and demolition materials.

In the SEC filing, Range Impact says it cooperation with MRR includes the exploration of planning services related to MMR’s potential development of a new residential and commercial landfill operation on the option property.

That document also indicates both parties to the agreement have approximately two years, until the end of 2027, to terminate the agreement without excessive penalties by providing the other party with a 30-day written notice of such intent to terminate.

“Range is clearly differentiating itself as a creative problem solver for the region’s most difficult social, economic and environmental challenges caused by legacy coal mine sites and is in the process of assembling one of the largest and most unique portfolios of strategic land assets in Appalachia,” Range Impact CEO Michael Cavanaugh says.

On the same day it completed the purchases, Range also sold its Collins Building & Contracting Inc. subsidiary, a move that completes Range's exit from its abandoned mine land reclamation services business.

“In its early days, Range Impact had focused primarily on generating revenue by providing reclamation and incidental mining and security services to third party mining companies, permit holders and private owners with abandoned mine land property," Cavanaugh says. "However, beginning in early 2025, our strategy evolved from a service-based business model to a land ownership business model designed to create shareholder value by unlocking the underlying value of land we own through our reclamation activities, and then creating multiple streams of long-term recurring revenue with a diverse group of third-party lessees focused on next-generation uses.”