The petroleum-contaminated Kansas dirt that was to be spread in trash-covering layers in the G & P Landfill near Milford is now headed elsewhere.
Seward County Commissioners Chair Misty Ahmic said May 11 that Jessica Bodfield, site director of G & P landfill, had notified the Seward-Saline County Solid Waste Management Board of the change in plans. The company seeking to remove the dirt from its Clifton, Kansas, worksite needed to begin doing so immediately, while the local board was working through approvals on the deal.
The Solid Waste Management Board meeting has now cancelled its May 19 meeting that had the Kansas dirt on the agenda.
Seward County commissioners on May 5 voted 4-1 to allow G & P Landfill’s acceptance of 2,600 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil from Kansas but received some pushback on the decision after the fact.
The Seward County board’s permission is required because the soil is coming from outside the landfill’s defined service area which includes Seward, Saline, Adams, Merrick, Butler, Polk, Saunders, Otoe and other areas of southeastern Nebraska, excluding Omaha.
While some people were concerned about the petroleum contamination in the soil, the practice being followed is part of national standards.
Ahmic, who cast the only vote against the request at the commissioners meeting, said she was doing so because the landfill would be accepting debris from outside its service area. She also said she was representing her District 1 residents who do not like the landfill being in their “backyard.”
In Bodfield’s letter she indicated the soil is being redirected to an “alternate permitted facility located in Kansas.”
Asked if the recent questions would cause any change for the G & P Landfill or the solid waste board, Ahmic said the solid waste management board has recently been reviewing and updating policies because that had not been done since 1993.
While the questions involved in this recent deal may be among the topics discussed, Ahmic said the review is not a direct result of it.
The solid waste management board next meets on June 25 at the Milford City Hall. Ahmic said the meeting is open to the public, though she said she had never seen anyone other than the board and involved personnel attend.
