Committee approves reports as Waste Management details DNR inspection, flare upgrade and wetlands work

The Waste Management Monitoring Committee of Franklin City approved routine minutes and reports and received a detailed operations update from Waste Management about an ongoing Department of Natural Resources review of a proposed landfill expansion and several site-improvement projects.

Waste Management told the committee it had a recent DNR inspection that noted windblown litter contained in trees on site and that crews are continuing cleanup. "We've been working pretty well," a Waste Management representative said, adding the company plans to submit what it is calling a final response to DNR by the end of the month and that outside counsel will attach a cover letter. "We're kind of in the position that this will be our final response to them to determine completeness," the representative said.

Staff said the final response was delayed about a month after a consultant experienced data loss; the company plans to share the response with Representative Wiki and the committee before filing. The committee was not briefed on DNR's decision timeline; Waste Management said the agency acknowledged receiving earlier correspondence but had not issued further comment.

Operations updates included site rehabilitation and gas-control work. Managers reported substantial topsoiling has been completed at multiple sites and seeding should follow in the coming months. The committee was also told the new landfill flare — part of this year's gas project — is nearly finished and technicians are expected to fire it up the week of the 18th. Staff said the flare changes vacuum control at the wellfield, giving landfill operators more direct control over gas collection and helping to reduce odors and nuisance impacts.

Committee members and staff discussed residential drop-off operations. The residential drop-off has been closed on Wednesdays; staff said the closure has generally reduced dumping and odors but noted ongoing public confusion, in part because Google business hours still show the site as open. The committee discussed outreach (newsletter posts) to clarify hours and revisited an older proposal to distribute swipe/placard cards to residents for drop-off access; no distribution steps have yet been taken.

The committee also heard about on‑site wetlands work at Feeasant Run. Staff and consultants visited the property to plan upgrades to low-grade wetlands with the goal of building goodwill and potential mitigation credits with DNR.

Committee member Joe Spears presented an audit of the residential drop-off and said he found no evidence of off‑site dumping, that site cover and appearance had improved following topsoiling work, and that there have been no odor complaints so far this year. He urged continued attention to tracking and street sweeping; Emerald Park was singled out as a location that required extra sweeping during a heavy soil project earlier in the winter.

On mitigation tactics for tracking, Spears described short tracking pads (raised-grid platforms) as an effective short-trip solution to remove mud from vehicle tires and discussed longer pads normally used at other sites.

The committee approved Waste Management's report and Spears' report by voice vote; the transcript records members saying "I" on the voice votes but does not capture individual roll-call tallies. Committee members scheduled the next meeting and landfill tour for Aug. 6 and agreed to circulate sampling letters by email before the next meeting.

What comes next: Waste Management will finalize and share the DNR response with Representative Wiki and the committee before filing; staff will proceed with the flare commissioning and coordinate seeding once topsoil work is complete.