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SPSA: current permit capacity constrained; cell 7 construction and permit modifications should add years of life
Summary
SPSA engineers told the board the current permitted landfill capacity for cells five and six will reach its permitted limit around August; temporary DEEQ authorization and permit modifications may add airspace and extend life, but wetlands mitigation and excavation of roughly 490,000 cubic yards remain challenges.
Southeastern Public Service Authority staff and consultants briefed the board Feb. 25 on landfill airspace, permitting and cell-7 construction, warning that permitted capacity for existing cells is constrained and that permit modifications, while promising, required extensive mitigation.
Bob, SPSA's resident engineer with SCS, presented the quarterly airspace study covering activity through December 2025. He said the calculation of remaining permitted capacity and life is conservative — it assumes current densities and full municipal landfilling — and noted that permit modifications were in review with DEEQ. "These numbers are conservative with respect to ultimately what will happen on the diversion issue," Bob said, adding that temporary authorization from DEEQ allows work to continue while the permit process proceeds.
SPSA staff said excavation for cell 7 must remove about "490,000 cubic yards" of soil before installing the composite geomembrane liner and that weather had slowed soil removal. Construction remains underway with contractor projections targeting wheels-on-the-road for the flyover by July 15 and substantial completion around Sept. 15; cell-7 substantial completion estimates are more subject to change because of wet weather impacts.
Board members heard that achieving permit modifications was an intensive, multi-year undertaking that required wetlands mitigation, purchase of mitigation credits and coordination with tribal and federal interests. Bagley described the process: SPSA spent several years, substantial sums and litigation/negotiation effort to secure wetlands permits for cells 8 and 9 and to provide compensatory wetlands preservation in other parcels.
Staff emphasized the link between landfill capacity and AWD (alternative waste disposal). Under current assumptions and disposal rates, engineering estimates can extend landfill life to roughly 2060 with the proposed cells; staff said the selected AWD approach (AMP/Commonwealth Sortation) could further reduce landfill input and — in the RFP proposal context — extend landfill life toward the end of the century (staff cited a rough estimate to about 2095 if AWD halves landfill tonnage).
Bob said DEEQ had provided temporary authorization through July 22 to proceed with permit-related work and that DEEQ had been cooperative; final permit issuance is expected after the public notice/comment and hearing process in mid-2026. If needed, staff said they could request an extension of temporary authorization.
Ending: staff promised continued quarterly airspace reporting, engineering briefings and to return with final permit outcomes and any impacts on operational schedules.
