Tunnel Hill seeks landfill expansion in Ohio

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has scheduled a meeting to consider a proposal by Connecticut-based Tunnel Hill Partners to expand the landfill at its Tunnel Hill Reclamation LLC property in New Lexington, Ohio.

Tunnel Hill is in the process of rebranding to be called WIN Waste Innovations to reflect its merger with waste-to-energy firm Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. and the acquisition of both firms by Australia-based Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA).

Tunnel Hill describes the New Lexington site as a Subtitle D (municipal solid waste, or MSW) landfill that is served by a rail connection and currently is permitted to accept 8,000 tons per day of material. In addition to MSW, the site also takes in construction and demolition materials.

According to a notice posted from the OEPA, Tunnel Hill’s landfill expansion project also includes a request to increase the authorized maximum daily waste intake to 12,000 tons per day and to slightly more than 3.2 million tons per year.

The OEPA notice also lists allowable pollution limits tied to the landfill, saying air dispersion modeling has been performed “to show allowed emission levels will not cause or contribute to an exceedance of any National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).”

The meeting is being held at the New Lexington Career Center in that central Ohio town, and OEPA says written comments will be accepted through Jan. 20.

More information about the comments process and the proposed permit can be found here.