Will County landfill committee hears annual report; RNG plant running below projections

The Will County Landfill Committee received its annual landfill report and an update on the county-owned renewable natural gas (RNG) plant at a meeting called to order at 9 a.m. Committee members heard details about site construction, tonnage and host fees as well as operational problems that have left the RNG plant operating below its original pro forma.

Dave Hartke, director of the Resource Recovery and Energy Division, told the committee Waste Management operates the county landfill and is responsible for capital and operating costs while the county collects host and taxing‑body fees. Hartke said the landfill’s engineered bottom liner is “approximately two‑thirds to three‑quarters of the way developed,” and that the operator added about 3.66 acres of bottom liner last year. He said the operator voluntarily installed about 24 acres of temporary cap last year and added a 40,000‑gallon leachate storage tank and load‑out system.

Hartke said the operator reported roughly 158 gas collection wells on site and that the current plan calls for adding 13 to 15 additional wells and roughly 4–4.5 acres of bottom liner in the coming year. He said the operator’s estimate is that the site will be full or closed around February 2034, an estimate the county carries as the planning horizon for eventual closure and any need for additional capacity.

Committee members were shown an eight‑year chart Hartke described as showing annual tonnage of about 950,000 tons received last year (roughly 90,000 tons more than the prior year). Hartke said the county’s host fee last year was about $3,500,000. He said a separate taxing‑body fee is paid per ton (he cited about $0.76 per ton) and that the taxing‑body share for 2024 was about $711,000, divided among roughly 10 taxing bodies and paid out monthly through the treasurer’s office.

On regulatory and financial protections, Hartke told the committee the operator must obtain Illinois EPA permit modifications for construction or operational changes and that the site has a post‑closure financial obligation; "post closure is a minimum of 30 years for this site," he said. Hartke described the host agreement — the long‑term contract the county uses with the operator — as an important tool that binds the operator to post‑closure responsibilities and noted that the host‑fee schedule is locked for three years following the fifth amendment to that agreement.

On the county’s RNG plant, Hartke described a string of technical and supply‑chain issues since startup that have kept output and revenue below expectations. He said the plant receives landfill gas at about 54% methane and upgrades it to pipeline quality near 92%. Hartke described problems with undersized compressors, clogged filters, spare‑parts shortages, oxygen infiltration that can require troubleshooting, and damage to valves caused by overfilled silica gel. He said many spare parts have now been purchased and winterization work (heat tracing and insulation) has been completed on valves, and that the plant’s uptime target for the coming year is 85–90 percent.

Member Richmond cited a January 28 finance committee report and said the RNG operation had run at a deficit, describing the most recent figures as "about $2,100,000 in the hole" for the year and noting prior losses; Hartke said the original pro forma showed positive net revenue in early years but that the county has faced larger‑than‑anticipated challenges. Asked whether the county can predict when the plant will run a net positive, Hartke said the committee does not have a firm date: "I guess the answer to that is we don't know yet."

Committee members asked about siting, permitted final heights, the potential need to secure additional landfill capacity in the future, and whether board members could tour the landfill and RNG plant; Hartke and other staff said tours had been done previously and could be arranged again. The committee also discussed the Will County Public Building Commission’s continued legal existence and whether it receives tax dollars; a staff speaker advised the commission remains on tax rolls but currently receives no tax dollars.

There were two formal, routine actions recorded in the meeting: approval of the committee minutes from Nov. 7, 2024, and a motion to adjourn. The committee announced a new operations manager, Jackie Rogers. The next committee meeting was scheduled for March 11, 2025, at 9 a.m.