Manatee County embarks in trashy conversation

Planning for a new landfill may take 20 years.

By Pam Eubanks
| 8:20 a.m. September 25, 2019

Manatee County's Lena Road Landfill has an estimated 20 to 24 years of life left. In 2018, it accepted 335,607.40 tons of waste.

East County
News

The Lena Road Landfill in Manatee County might have another 20 to 24 years of life left, but Manatee County Public Utilities Director Mike Gore is already talking about its retirement.

Twenty years will come quickly when you factor in how long it takes to find 1,000 to 3,000 usable acres and permit the site through multiple regulatory agencies. A timeline Gore shared with Manatee County commissioners Sept. 17 indicated that if site identification starts now, a new landfill could be ready to open in 2038, about when the Lena Road Landfill could be at capacity.

“Finding properties — and the typography of those properties — that look conducive to siting a landfill is the first big step,” Gore said. “The second big step is the due diligence to ensure archeological, environmental challenges and clear [permitting hurdles]. It’s an extensive process.”

Gore said sites must be able to handle the landfill’s stormwater needs and cannot be too close to certain

FROM TRASH TO TREASURE?

As Manatee County prepares for the future closing of the Lena Road Landfill, Public Utilities Director Mike Gore also has a vision for converting a part of the site into a 130-acre preserve open to the public.

An existing wetland area on the east side of the Lena Road Landfill could become a passive park open to the public. With the blessing of Manatee County commissioners Aug. 17, Gore will move forward with a conceptual design for the preserve, which could have up to 5 miles of walking trails, lookout towers and possibly a pole barn and bathrooms.

“There’s a lot of wildlife on that property,” Gore said. “[From the towers] people could see site work at the landfill. The idea is anybody could come and see how we’re operating that site. We try to be good stewards of the environment.”

Gore said he hopes to have a design and cost estimate for the board to consider sometime next year. If approved, construction could start in fall 2020, after the rainy season, and be ready for opening in fall 2021.

“We feel like it would allow a public use to a piece of property that is currently sitting there as a buffer to the landfill,” Gore said. “The buffers around these landfills become quite the preserve for wildlife in the area. It would give opportunity for folks to watch the operation from a distance.”

tributaries or other bodies of water.

“It’s challenging to find areas where you can have minimal impact on the environment,” he said.

Currently, Manatee County is working in the final of three cells, or trenches used for collecting waste, at the 1,200-acre landfill. Each cell is about 34.5 acres and about 6 feet deep. It is double-lined to prevent fluids from leaching through to surface water, and a piping system also pumps out any liquid collecting beneath the trash for water treatment.

When the landfill is full, Manatee County could haul its trash to another county; however, the closest locations are either full or are not accepting trash. That makes the closest dump locations in St. Lucie and Osceola counties. Both are private facilities, which typically have higher tipping fee rates.

Today’s prices for hauling alone would be a minimum of $10 per ton, Gore said. Lena Road Landfill’s current annual tonnage is 335,607.40 (2018), which would translate into an estimated minimum of $3.36 million in hauling costs Manatee County currently does not pay.

Rather than incur that expense, Gore recommends finding a Manatee County site and constructing a transfer station, if needed. Part of the existing landfill site, about 15-20 acres, could be reserved for a transfer station, though that would reduce the landfill’s estimated lifespan to 14-18 years.

During a workshop Sept. 17, Manatee County commissioners gave Gore a green light to begin searching for landfill property within Manatee County.

“Just looking for a piece of property is the start of this venture,” said Mitch Kessler, president of consultant Kessler Consulting Inc., which specializes in innovative waste solutions. “In 10 years, you may want to entertain another [waste energy plant] option, but we still will need a piece of land, and we still will need a landfill.”

Gore said typography will largely dictate whether the land could be used, and costs could vary significantly. However, he said constructing one cell, including the roads and infrastructure to it, at the landfill will likely cost up to $25 million.

“These are big numbers, and that’s why we’re looking at it 20 years ahead,” At-Large Commissioner Carol Whitmore said.

Gore said available properties will likely be farther east on the outskirts of the county’s boundaries. Mosaic, which has mined thousands of acres in Manatee County for phosphate since 2004, also might have land available. Either way, finding even 1,000 acres of contiguous land mostly devoid of wetlands or other environmental constraints will be challenging.

“We need to look and see what we can find property-wise,” he said. “I think no matter what, this is something we need to do. This board really likes to look ahead and plan. They want to be sure staff is using due diligence.”

Gore said siting a transfer station is also difficult, which is why he suggested reserving a portion of the existing landfill for those operations. Trucking costs without such a station would increase significantly.

“We’re trying to think worst-case scenario,” Gore said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t end up with no need for a transfer station. It’s all things to consider.”

Gore said he expects to have a few possible sites to present to the board within a year, if not sooner.