Wicomico officials outline timeline, risks as Newland Park Landfill nears capacity

Adam Corey, acting superintendent of the Newland Park Landfill in Wicomico County, said the facility is likely to run low on permitted airspace in Cell 8 within roughly 12 to 14 months unless measures to slow incoming tonnage or add capacity proceed on the timeline staff has outlined. Corey made the remarks during a recorded site tour and interview at the landfill.

Corey said the county has adjusted the design for the next on-site cell, called Cell 7, in part by moving the sump and riser-house location to reduce excavation of older buried material and preserve usable volume. He said the Cell 7 design is at roughly a 60% stage and that the county aims to submit final plans to the Maryland Department of the Environment for expedited review in August, advertise construction bids soon after, and — under the timeline presented — begin on-site construction in late January or early February with about 85 to 100 days of initial construction work.

Why it matters: Wicomico’s landfill serves municipal and commercial customers; an unexpected shortfall in permitted airspace could force operational restrictions, phased closures, or transport of municipal solid waste out of the county. Corey said changes in recent years — including a roughly 26% increase in tonnage he has observed — have made scheduling and permit timing urgent.

What staff described: Corey said engineering work has included LiDAR/volumetric surveys, geotechnical borings and collaboration between Maryland Environmental Service and the county’s engineering firm, EA. He described a strategy of filling permitted benches and “saddle” areas that remain accessible to buy time while Cell 7 proceeds, but cautioned those areas are hard to reach and provide diminishing returns because they require roads and more staff to access.

Corey outlined the planned schedule and contingencies: county staff want final design in August so the county can advertise an initial request for proposals; the original bidding phase might be short (around 15 days), with bid review in November and a recommendation for award in January. If that schedule holds and permits are approved, construction would start in late January–early February and could reach initial completion by early June, he said. The work depends on an expedited MDE permit, winter weather and funding. Corey's staff told the interviewer that Cell 7 is the last cell planned on the current side of Brick Kiln Road; a later horizontal expansion on the other side of Brick Kiln Road would be a separate future project.

Permitting, monitoring and operations: Environmental compliance technician Carissa Gortz described multiple permitting and monitoring activities now underway: a refilled or resubmitted refuse-disposal permit, an oil-operations permit, SPCC (spill prevention, control and countermeasure) materials, semiannual groundwater sampling with peristaltic pumps, daily pond and leachate checks, landfill-gas monitoring, and leachate-hauling records. Corey said the county has a “very good working relationship” with MDE in Baltimore and with their engineering contractor, and that those relationships have helped pursue expedited review.

Leachate and containment issues: Corey described two 1,000,000-gallon leachate vessels on site, one of which developed a liner leak in April that the landfill’s leak-detection system captured and alarmed; the leak did not breach secondary containment, he said. Corey said the original vessels date from the early 1990s and are beyond original design service life; he said replacement parts and a new liner were being supplied and that the liner replacement cost was about $168,000. He cautioned that if the secondary system were to fail, the consequences would be far larger.

Budget and funding: Corey said the Cell 7 project is included in the county’s Capital Improvement Program and that construction will likely require bonding. He stressed the county does not currently have the staff or budget to repeatedly rely on difficult-to-access saddle areas as a long-term solution.

Policy and short-term steps: Corey and the interviewer discussed the county executive’s plan to phase commercial access and relocate some commercial loads as one possible short-term measure. Corey said the preferred long-term solution would be to restrict “outside trash” and work with county legislation to prohibit nonresident commercial waste deliveries; he said a properly enforced ban would reduce pressure on local airspace. He described phased or weekend closures as a blunt tool that could be disruptive to haulers and residents and said it could prompt trucks to queue or shift loads to other days.

Community outreach and timeline transparency: Corey said staff held workshops in November 2024 and March 2025 and planned another fall workshop and a town-hall meeting in December to update the public. He acknowledged stakeholders and some members of the public saw the county executive’s announcements before specific operational details were widely shared, and said staff would try to provide more updates in the weeks ahead.

No formal actions recorded: The interview covered operational updates, timelines, monitoring results and planning; there were no formal motions, votes or legislative actions recorded in the interview.

Reporting notes: Direct quotes below are from the recorded interview. Corey: “We shouldn’t be taking other people’s trash anyway.” Corey: “I never want this county to be in this position again.” Gortz summarized monitoring work: “We do a semiannual [groundwater sampling] with peristaltic pumped [sampling].”

What remains uncertain or pending: state permit approval timing, exact construction award dates, and longer-term decisions about restricting nonresident commercial waste — each of which Corey said will affect whether Cell 7 construction and short-term saddle-area use prevent a capacity shortage in Cell 8.