Waste Management representatives told the Franklin City Management Monitoring Committee that state wetland reclassifications and repeated completeness findings by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are stalling a planned expansion of the existing landfill within a footprint the parties previously agreed.

Brett Coogan, a Waste Management representative, said the company has pursued permitting for about two years and has encountered “a lot of roadblocks” from the DNR, which he described as repeatedly “moving the goalposts” on wetland determinations and issuing notices of incompleteness without detailed explanations. Coogan said earlier delineations had classified the same features as non‑navigable in prior reviews and that new staff reviews are changing those findings, which would impede the project.

The committee’s planning staff, Greg Willem Martinez, said most of the proposed expansion area is already zoned for landfill, though he noted a small northeastern corner may require a zoning check or industrial designation. Coogan said the expansion area falls inside the host community footprint agreed in earlier siting work and that the company is exploring options to challenge changed wetland designations if necessary.

Committee members and attendees argued the existing site remains the most feasible regional option because of local geology and the cost and time required to find a new greenfield site. Coogan said the expansion sequencing that DNR appears to be requiring — asking for a feasibility report simultaneously with wetland permitting — risks wasted expense if the wetland permit later constrains the footprint.

To press for clearer, quicker determinations, Waste Management asked whether the committee and the city could send a unified letter to the DNR showing community support for the project. The committee agreed that a single, coordinated letter would be preferable to multiple, separate communications. Jesse (staff) was asked to draft the letter in coordination with the committee chair and the city attorney; the motion to draft and sign a letter of support passed by voice vote.

The committee asked Waste Management to keep staff and Representative Witke informed of DNR conversations and internal meetings. The committee scheduled its next meeting for Feb. 5.

Actions recorded at the meeting: the committee approved the Nov. 6 minutes by voice vote; it voted to draft and sign a unified letter of support to the DNR for the expansion; and it adjourned. The motions were passed by voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.