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Board postpones decision on proposed Northland transfer station after EPA guidance raised
Summary
The Smithville Board of Aldermen postponed consideration of Bill No. 3060-25 — a conditional use permit for Northland Recycle & Transfer at 14820 North Industrial Drive — to May 6 after public testimony from the applicant and Alderman Melissa Wilson cited EPA guidance on odor and washdown practices.
The Smithville Board of Aldermen on April 15 postponed consideration of Bill No. 3060-25, which would grant a conditional use permit for a municipal solid waste transfer station at 14820 North Industrial Drive, giving the Board time to review EPA guidance on transfer-station operations.
David Finke, owner of Northland Recycle & Transfer, introduced the company's proposal and said rising rates and new restrictions at the St. Joseph landfill prompted the application. "We are wanting to offer the service at our location so businesses like Red Gate can avoid having to go to St. Joseph or downtown Kansas City," Finke said, describing the proposal as a way to keep disposal costs down for local businesses.
Alderman Melissa Wilson handed out the EPA's Waste Transfer Stations: A Manual for Decision-Making and highlighted odor-management recommendations, including the manual's advice to remove all waste at the end of each operating day and to frequently clean tipping floors. Wilson asked Finke to confirm whether the proposed facility could meet those practices.
Finke responded with details of on-site controls: the facility's tipping floor slopes to a lower-level collection point; liquids are routed to an external container with an oil-and-sand filter tank that prevents discharge to stormwater or sewer and is periodically pumped out; the firm hauls such liquids to the Kansas City wastewater treatment facility and said the state conducts quarterly tests. He also said, "From the moment waste is dumped on the tipping floor, it remains there for no more than 10 minutes before being loaded into semi-trailers" and that trailers are tarped inside the building before transport to the Johnson County landfill. He said the floor is cleaned throughout the week and that on Saturdays the company is required by the state to sanitize and wash the entire facility floor.
After questions and discussion, Alderman Wilson moved — seconded by Alderman Dan Hartman — to postpone Bill No. 3060-25 to the May 6 Board meeting to allow Board members time to review the EPA manual and related materials. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 6-0.
Mayor Boley also asked Development Director Jack Hendrix to research whether the city should consider a moratorium on future transfer stations and what steps would be required to restrict the number of storage-unit facilities and car lots, directing staff to return with findings.
The Board will revisit Bill No. 3060-25 at its May 6 meeting.
