Board backs landfill expansion

Solid Waste District OKs first phase; mayor votes no on plan

PRAIRIE GROVE — A proposed expansion of the Eco-Vista Landfill in Tontitown was partly endorsed Thursday by the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District’s board.

The board voted to recommend approval of phase one of a proposed expansion of the Class 1 landfill at the site, leaving a second phase for future consideration. The board also voted to recommend approval of an expansion of the Class 4 landfill at the site, which is meant to handle construction debris.

Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan cast the lone vote against both parts of the planned expansion. Jordan said he wants the region to focus on recycling and other alternatives. He said public sentiment in Fayetteville was overwhelmingly opposed to the landfill expansion.

“I have not had one positive comment about the landfill so I will not be supporting this expansion,” Jordan said. He later amended his comment to reflect he received one positive comment about the landfill.

The board also voted to have the district staff begin work on a study of a regional recycling effort.

The plan would expand the surface area of the landfill by 72 acres over the next five years. About 12 of the acres would be dedicated to bulky construction waste, with the rest for household waste. Waste Management owns 609 acres in the area and uses about 109 of them. The expansion would stay within the bounds of the property.

At its current capacity, the site will fill up within about five years. All phases of the expansion plan would cover waste collection through 2049, according to the proposal.

About a dozen residents who attended an April 18 public hearing on the planned expansion of the landfill in Tontitown wanted to know how adding 72 acres of waste collection to the site will affect them. The public comment period ended May 3.

The board offered 10 minutes for public comments to both supporters

and opponents of the plan. Four people spoke in opposition and others indicated they had comments, but the time ended before they could speak.

Danny Beaver said he lives next to the landfill site and his property has experienced frequent flooding since the most recent expansion in 2008. Beaver said Waste Management has said they would make on-site changes to prevent the flooding but nothing has changed.

“We’ve lost count,” he said. “We’ve been flooded eight or nine or 10 times.”

George Wheatley, with Waste Management, said the Eco-Vista site is the only landfill in the district and in Northwest Arkansas. He said the landfill is an important part of the region’s infrastructure, adding his company is supportive of regional efforts to expand recycling.

“The difference between the amount of material recycled and the amount of material landfilled is enormous,” Wheatley said.

Robyn Reed, director of the solid waste district, said the first phase of the expansion recommended by the board would add 10 acres to the Class 1 landfill and increase the expected life of the landfill by 12 years. The expansion of the Class 4 landfill would add about 12 acres to that site and increase the expected life of the operation by about eight years.