Landfill closure pending

By Laura London
Posted 2/21/18

WHEATLAND — The Wheatland Town Council approved a grant and loan agreement with the state to pay for closing the town’s landfill during the council’s regular meeting Feb. 14.

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Landfill closure pending

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WHEATLAND — The Wheatland Town Council approved a grant and loan agreement with the state to pay for closing the town’s landfill during the council’s regular meeting Feb. 14.
A resolution the Town Council passed during its Sept. 11, 2017, regular meeting states the grant/loan application to the State Loan and Investment Board was for just over $1.8 million.
Town Attorney Doug Weaver said during the Feb. 14 meeting that the loan portion is $140,000 with 0 percent interest, with repayment to start within one year of substantial completion of the landfill closure.
The council also accepted a bid from Trihydro for environmental monitoring of the landfill after its closure.
During a telephone interview Thursday, Wheatland Mayor Joe Fabian said the landfill was supposed to close last year, but the Environmental Protection Agency did not feel a closure at that time was cost-effective for the town because too much fill dirt was needed. It was more cost efficient to fill the spaces left with more waste.

Fabian said March 1 is now the tentative date for closure, and the EPA is currently assessing whether the town has enough fill or if the landfill should stay open one more month.
“We’re waiting for the EPA to get back to us as far as if it will be open for another month,” Fabian said.
Fabian said the closure will be more expensive for contractors since the Wheatland Solid Waste Transfer Station, which opened last April at 199 Y-O Ranch Road, does not accept construction waste. The transfer station also does not take green waste, such as tree branches, but Fabian said there are rolloffs around town where citizens can put green waste, and the town composts it. The rolloffs accept green waste only — no plastic bags.
Fabian said there are recycling bins at the transfer station, although there is not curbside recycling collection around town.
“That’s on my long-term plan,” he said.
Fabian said waste goes from the transfer station to the Torrington municipal landfill. He said the town has a contract with Torrington to take Wheatland’s waste.
Fabian said the town is examining the best way of collecting garbage. Wheatland currently uses big 300-gallon collectors, two or three in each alley. Fabian said those are very expensive to maintain, and the town might end up giving each resident one garbage can. He said staff finds things in the big containers that can’t fit into the compressor at the transfer station.
“We can’t just throw anything in there anymore,” Fabian said about the trash bins. “We have people driving through alleys throwing in things we just can’t accept anymore.”
Fabian said there may be other changes during the town’s budget cycle this year depending on what the town decides with its collection policy.