CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Following the recent decision for Bi-County Solid Waste Management (SWM) to reduce the volume of waste from outside of Stewart and Montgomery Counties, and as its staff, engineers and board continues to work through the permitting process for additional airspace, it is necessary to better define the process for the public.
Bi-County SWM is a solid waste authority formed in 1974 between Montgomery and Stewart Counties. In the mid 90s, Bi-County became self sustaining, no longer using tax dollars to operate. The landfill is governed by a seven member board, consisting of members from both counties. The landfill site located on Dover Road consists of 556 acres, including both permitted and unpermitted acreage. The airspace, or amount of available above ground space that can be used for waste disposal, requires a lengthy permitting process before land can be used. This process requires an extensive liner system to be installed, as well as designs and procedures to properly control the system in an environmentally sound manner. The airspace permitting process must be done in sections, not all at once, due to the complex nature and requirements.
An original estimate, done in 2001, of volume on land later acquired from Fort Campbell through a land swap estimated 100 years of landfill life. As water tables have risen and other regulatory changes with TDEC, the amount of usable space has been reduced. The landfill currently has 70 years of unpermitted airspace. Bi-County officials and the board are working closely with engineers to secure a permit for 18 months of airspace. At the same time, while these professionals are onsite gathering data for that permit, they are also concurrently working on permit preparation to move forward soon after for additional airspace.
In the meantime, to offset the loss of income from reducing volume from outside wastes, Bi-County is reviewing possible cost cutting measures to be brought before the executive committee for review. The collection of wastes from outside Montgomery County, Stewart County and Fort Campbell has allowed costs to remain low for our local customers including those paying the user fee. These fees charged to outside agencies are used to offset the user fee.
While the permitting process proceeds, daily operations will continue for citizens of Montgomery and Stewart Counties, as well as Fort Campbell, without any interruption to service.
For detailed facts about the Bi-County landfill, including how the landfill works, an outline of plans for future operations and how rates compare to other areas, visit www.mcgtn.org/bi-county/ and click on Fact Sheet.