News

• Expansion Plans
• Gas-To-Energy Plant
• Construction Plans

Expansion Plans

Epperson is considering an expansion of its landfill. The exact location of an expansion has not been determined at this time, but any expansion would be contiguous to the current site.

Many permits and approvals, both at the local and state level, must be obtained before a landfill can be expanded. Obtaining all approvals can take as long as 5 years.

Epperson is at the beginning stages of planning a possible expansion. If expansion plans are pursued, notices will be placed in the Grant County News and area residents will have the opportunity to review the expansion plans in detail and comment about the plans locally and to the Kentucky Division of Waste Management.

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Gas-To-Energy Plant

When waste that has been disposed in landfills begins to decompose, methane gas is created. That methane gas must be collected and burned to prevent it from escaping directly into the atmosphere.

Currently, Epperson has a series of pipes and pumps which collect the gas and bring it to a central point where it is burned or "flared." Epperson is pursuing a project that would enhance the collection of this methane gas and, rather than flare the gas, turn it into electricity.

Methane gas is a clean-burning energy source and the Epperson Landfill is currently generating enough methane gas to provide nearly 70% of Williamstown's electricity needs.

Building a gas-to-energy plant at the landfill requires numerous permits and approvals and Epperson is pursuing several scenarios for the development of a state-of-the-art gas-to-energy plant for the community.

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Construction Plans

Because landfill liner systems are very expensive, solid waste companies do not construct the entire landfill at one time. Instead, they build a small area and when that area is full, they build another area. These areas are called "cells." Epperson is constructing a new landfill cell during the summer of 2005.

The cell that Epperson will be constructing this summer will be 9.2 acres in size. Construction began in June and is expected to be completed by October.

During construction, it will be necessary to uncover some waste that has already been buried. That is necessary so the liner system in the new cell can be attached and connected to the liner system in a filled cell. During those times, it is possible some odor from the uncovered waste will be noticeable. Epperson will do everything possible to minimize the odor and to shorten the time that the waste is uncovered.

The cell construction hours are from 6:30 AM - 5:30 PM Monday through Friday each week. We do not plan on heavy equipment operating on weekends unless we fall behind schedule. We will notify county officials if we determine we must work on a Saturday. The liner work will be a little different. It may be necessary to work 7 days per week, likely from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM. This work will not entail heavy equipment and should be relatively quiet.

The schedule for construction is May thru October, unless weather delays the schedule. Construction is currently on schedule.

We do plan to begin a gas system addition/enhancement. Currently we expect this work to take 2-3 weeks to complete. It should begin at the end of July lasting through mid August. There may be some additional odors during this time, but the work will help reduce odors in the longer term.

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