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Allegany County closes brush drop-off site, proposes limited weekend reopening
Summary
County officials closed a heavily abused brush/yard-waste drop-off site after contamination and overfilling; staff recommended seasonal, weekend-only reopening starting in October with no attendant due to staffing constraints.
Allegany County officials said a county brush and yard-waste drop-off site has been closed for about a month after the site became overfilled and contaminated, and staff recommended a limited, seasonal reopening on weekends to reduce commercial use.
Adam, a county staff member, told commissioners the site "has been closed for probably a month now. It got out of hand. Got completely full to where people it was not even usable." He said material that county staff had hoped to tub-grind had decomposed or was contaminated, and the county obtained a burning permit from the health department to clear the accumulated material. "It was clogging. So we got a burning permit from the health department and we burned it. The site is empty now," Adam said.
County staff said operating the site the way it had been used previously would cost about $60,000 per year; that estimate does not include additional equipment replacement or heavy maintenance. Staff also said the site’s heavy commercial use, aging equipment and limited staffing contributed to the decision to close it.
To limit commercial dumping and provide residents with a place to dispose of yard waste, staff recommended opening weekends only during seasonal windows — Saturdays and Sundays from early October through Dec. 1 and selective weekends in spring. Adam said staff would not keep an attendant on site while it is open because of staffing shortages.
Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives: sending large commercial loads to private sites that can charge and operate with scales, invoicing contractors for commercial work, or relying on nearby facilities. Adam reported that a private site, Donsons, recently saw increased traffic and had been shut down by the Maryland Department of the Environment for not having proper permits, and that Nexus WTV — a future processing option mentioned by staff — is not yet operational. Staff described the proposed weekend plan as a temporary, stopgap measure "to give the residents some outlet for this."
Staff proposed an initial reopening date of Oct. 4 but said they could open sooner if public pressure and operational readiness require it.
No formal action was recorded at the work session; staff said they would place the reopening and any related operational policy or hours on a future agenda for formal action if required.
