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. Recent lab results were provided to HARBS and were “preliminarily confirmed” to meet pretreatment standards; the county plans an initial single-truck haul to the plant and, if that does not affect the plant’s operations, will simulate heavier hauls with multiple trucks.

On landfill construction, Phillips said contractor Selwyn Construction has largely completed work on the Phase E3 expansion; only contractor training on pump-station controls remains and is scheduled to conclude in the coming days. A failed variable-frequency drive (VFD) delayed full commissioning; staff say a substitute VFD was found and the newly delivered unit is about a 20-horsepower size. County records show roughly $17,000 remained budgeted and carried forward into FY26 to close out remaining invoices for E3, and Phillips said some billing adjustments are likely.

Separately, Phillips said the county signed a professional services agreement with Parametrix Engineering on Aug. 18, 2025, for design and future construction work on a landfill closure cap (versacap) intended to reduce stormwater infiltration, leachate production, landfill-gas escapement and odors. Parametrix is in the design phase and Phillips said he will return with quarterly updates as the project advances.

Operationally, Fighting Creek Landfill continues to receive roughly 750 tons per day of municipal solid waste, and crews are installing stormwater controls and erosion blankets for the wetter season. Landfill gas collection is averaging about 1,300 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm), down about 100 scfm as a seasonal fluctuation; about 1,000 scfm is used by the onsite gas-to-energy plant and the remainder is combusted. A private operator, KRE, had in prior updates expressed interest in adding another generator but Phillips said he has received no new contact from KRE in recent months.

At transfer stations, a new public quick-drop area at Ramsey has averaged 150–200 vehicles per day over recent months. The county plans to seasonally close that quick-drop area once winter weather requires snow removal or creates safety/maintenance issues; staff will monitor weather after Oct. 15 and reopen in spring. Phillips said the quick-drop has reduced line lengths and that, for May–June 2025, the express drop served 18,346 customers with about 439 tons received (an average customer load of about 48 pounds).

Phillips also described space constraints at the Ramsey demo pit, which has reached an interim capacity grade for trailer storage and future development; he recommended an engineering review before additional infill so future staging or a stormwater swale is not compromised. The county may need to revise its fee schedule once the remaining capacity is used.

On rural‐site operations, contractor Sunshine Recycling continued regular service with few complaints; Phillips said some abuse at rural sites has increased and that the county will continue to work with the sheriff’s department on enforcement. New surveillance cameras are scheduled for Kidd Island Bay and Sunup Bay with 24/7 recording and a direct access link for the sheriff’s office; signs will notify the public and the anticipated go-live date is October 2025.

Staffing was addressed: the department has one full-time vacancy for a heavy-equipment mechanic. Phillips said recruitment outreach and advertised pay were increased to include the full steps 1–5 at grade 8 (advertised hourly range $25.73–$30.58) after earlier advertising of steps 1–4 attracted few qualified applicants.

Phillips closed by noting solid-waste volumes year-to-date are largely flat across facilities. Ramsey transfer-station site visits (excluding the quick-drop area) were reported at 239,999 visits Jan.–Aug. 2025 (down 4.6%); including the quick-drop the department said visits are up about 2.8%. Prairie transfer-station visits were up about 4%; Fighting Creek landfill tonnage was up about 0.9% year-to-date with 1,382 additional tons. The county also reported 4,546 tons hauled directly to the landfill by contractors in 2025 so far.

No formal votes or policy decisions were taken during the update; commissioners heard the report and had no requested actions at that time.