Kootenai County updates board on leachate pilot, landfill cap design and transfer-station changes

Kootenai County Solid Waste Director John Phillips told the Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 7 that a full-scale leachate treatment pilot installed in May is producing water that preliminarily meets pretreatment standards and that engineering is underway for a landfill closure cap, while transfer-station operations, staffing and rural-site enforcement remain active priorities.

The update gave commissioners a progress report on four main projects: the leachate treatment pilot, completion of the Phase E3 landfill area, design for a closure cap (versacap), and day-to-day operations at the Fighting Creek Landfill and county transfer stations. Phillips described the leachate pilot results as “good news for our project,” and said the department will perform limited test hauls to the regional treatment plant before making a formal purchase recommendation.

Phillips said the pilot system, delivered and installed in May 2025, has run nearly four months and processed roughly 1,400,000 gross gallons of leachate to date. About 700,000 gallons of that is reported as treated “clean” water and about 700,000 gallons as reject material. The pilot has been operating at roughly 10,000–14,000 gallons per day, though it was designed for up to 35,000 gallons per day; Phillips said the feed has been more concentrated than expected because it has included liquid from an evaporated basin.…