Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Richmond council votes to oppose county landfill expansion, citing heavy truck traffic
Summary
The Richmond City Council voted to deny a Mcome County solid waste plan amendment that would expand the Pine Tree/Pineree Acres landfill, saying continued acceptance of Canadian-origin waste would increase heavy-truck traffic through Richmond and harm roads, air quality and safety.
The Richmond City Council on April 20 passed a motion to deny a proposed amendment to the Mcome County Solid Waste Management Plan that would expand the Pineree/Pine Tree Acres landfill and add a recycling transfer station. Council members said they objected primarily to the continued acceptance of waste originating in Canada, which they say has increased heavy-truck traffic through Richmond.
The council’s motion listed specific concerns including increased heavy-truck traffic on local roads, road deterioration, congestion, noise and air-quality effects as well as heightened safety risks for pedestrians and school routes. A council member also noted residents’ complaints about trucks passing through the heart of Richmond on Grashet Avenue and said intersection operations there had been repeatedly problematic.
City staff told the council the county’s amendment would site roughly 236.5 acres adjacent to the existing facility, about 135 acres of which would be used for additional disposal; staff also said the county has already secured the municipal approval threshold needed for the plan to move forward at the county level. Council discussion referenced the landfill’s remaining estimated life of six to eight years and said Waste Management has been involved in the county’s planning process.
Council members pressed for more information on truck origins and counts — one member asked how many of the roughly 600 daily truck trips reported to the council were Canadian — and noted that any decision to accept international waste involves factors beyond city control. Council members also acknowledged the facility’s operational capacity and economic role for the county, saying expansion may be defensible from a regional-tipping-fee perspective even as it imposes local burdens on Richmond.
The council’s motion to deny the amendment passed by voice vote; the transcript does not record a numeric roll-call tally.
Next steps: the city transmitted its denial and reasons to the county planning authority as requested by the council. The county and Waste Management will continue with the county-level review process; Richmond residents and council members said they expect continued engagement on routing and mitigation of truck impacts.
