Decatur County Commissioners vote to expand county Solid Waste Facility

Published 10:38 am Wednesday, August 4, 2021

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On Tuesday evening, the Decatur County Commissioners met for their second monthly meeting. One of the items on the agenda was consideration for approval to proceed with new horizontal and vertical expansion of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste unit at the Decatur County Solid Waste Facility.

In order to keep the landfill in check with Georgia EPD rules and regulations, the county must update the site’s design and operation plan every five years. With the deadline of January 1, 2022, approaching, one major update County Administrator Alan Thomas presented to the Commissioners was the horizontal and vertical expansion of the landfill’s C&D unit, as the influx of waste from Hurricane Michael has reduced it’s life expectancy.

“The life expectancy was shortened due to the fact of all the debris being brought in as a result of Hurricane Michael,” Thomas said. “We have one issue, that we’re actually doing a C&D expansion now. But due to Hurricane Michael, the life expectancy has been shortened greatly from the space and life expectancy we had previously. So now we’re going to ask to get another expansion for the C&D side to get additional years out of it.”

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The projected life expectancy left in the unit is only about 4 years. The process to review the site and finalize the permit is projected to take until August of 2023.

“The main thing is that we continue to operate the landfill within the regulations set by the EPD,” Thomas concluded.