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Vernon County faces near-term landfill capacity constraint; board hears expansion plan
Summary
Solid Waste Director Stacie Sanborn told the Vernon County Board the county has about 1½ years of space under one scenario and submitted a 2,368-page feasibility study to the DNR for a proposed 4-acre expansion; the board discussed MOUs, DNR review timelines and next steps.
Stacie Sanborn, Director of Vernon County Solid Waste & Recycling, told the Board that engineers who prepared the feasibility study determined the county is running short on landfill space and the county must decide soon whether to approve a proposed 4-acre expansion.
"The engineer says we have about 1 ½ years of space available. We are running out of room, and we are running out of time," Sanborn said, describing a 2,368-page report submitted to the Department of Natural Resources on Sept. 11, 2003. She said a Plan of Operations would follow Board approval and that the DNR has a 65-day completeness review for the submission.
Sanborn provided operational context: Vernon County’s budgeting for the landfill has assumed about 15,000 tons annually; she said 14,341 tons is the minimum annual volume needed and that, as of the meeting, 17 of 21 towns, 5 of 9 villages and the City of Westby — representing roughly 61% of the county population — had signed memoranda of understanding committing to use the county landfill. Supervisors expressed urgency about the timing and interest in seeing the DNR response before taking final action.
The Board did not take a final vote on expansion at the Sept. 21 meeting; Sanborn said she will attend the City of Viroqua meeting next week to seek approval of the city MOU. The presentation established the immediate procedural steps: DNR completeness determination, development of a Plan of Operations if the Board approves expansion, and follow-up municipal approvals.
