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Scottsbluff hires HDR to pursue Sioux County landfill permit as purchase deadline nears
Summary
The council approved a contract with HDR Engineering for conditional-use permitting and financial modeling for a proposed Sioux County landfill site, citing a looming January 2026 purchase-option deadline and a May 2027 projected closure of the current landfill.
The Scottsbluff City Council voted to authorize a master short-form owner–engineer agreement with HDR Engineering Inc. to support the city’s effort to site a landfill in Sioux County. HDR will represent the city in the conditional-use-permit (CUP) process before Sioux County and prepare a financial model estimating tipping fees and long-term costs.
Why it matters: City staff told the council the timeline is tight: the city holds a five-year purchase agreement on the candidate property that expires in January 2026, and the region’s current landfill is projected to close in May 2027. Council members and staff described the next six months as critical to determine whether the site can be permitted and financially viable.
HDR engineer Katie Kimley described the firm’s immediate scope: “This project is really making this proposed new site through that CUP process and also at the same time taking it through a detailed financial model to really kind of dial in those tipping fees,” she said. HDR will prepare permit materials, support public outreach and produce an estimate of the costs the city will likely face if it proceeds.
Funding and next steps: City staff said approximately $3 million is currently available in a city fund set aside for landfill planning and related expenses; that fund will pay HDR’s initial work. HDR estimated the CUP-phase work and financial modeling would take about six months. If the CUP proceeds to state permitting, further engineering and permitting steps would follow.
