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Commissioners approve contracts to advance RMS landfill expansion and monitoring
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Summary
Lycoming County commissioners approved engineering and geology contracts totaling $617,500 to support a proposed RMS landfill expansion and the year-long groundwater monitoring required for state permitting.
Lycoming County commissioners on a routine vote approved two professional agreements to advance a proposed expansion of the county’s regional municipal solid waste (RMS) landfill.
Jay Alexander, who identified himself as part of the landfill management team, told commissioners the site currently has "a little over 6 years of capacity remaining, fully built out" and described an accelerated schedule to drill and monitor groundwater wells so officials can file a state permit application next year. "The DEP permitting process would take 3 to 5 years," Alexander said, adding the team expects substantial pre-permit field work before submission.
Speaker 9 introduced a $317,500 agreement with BAI LLC for engineering and permitting services and a separate $300,000 agreement with Mizer and Earl for well-drilling and geology work. Both were described on the agenda as capital items and were approved in regular motions. The contracts were not presented as budgeted items but proponents said capital funds are available to cover them.
Commissioners and attendees emphasized the regional importance of the landfill. One commissioner noted that losing the facility would create capacity challenges across central Pennsylvania and urged close cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection during permitting.
The approved work package covers pre-permit investigations — drilling, groundwater monitoring for approximately a year, design and permitting — that county staff and consultants said is necessary before a permit application can be submitted. County staff and the management team said they expect the process to take multiple years once the application is filed.
Next steps described at the meeting included executing the contracts, starting well drilling and monitoring, completing the permit application, and submitting it to state regulators. No cost-recovery guarantees were offered at the meeting.
Actions recorded at the meeting: the board voted to approve the agreement with BAI LLC ($317,500) and the agreement with Mizer and Earl ($300,000).
