Like Guernsey’s, the Lander landfill is also facing restrictions due to potential groundwater impacts. To help extend the life of the landfill while the solid waste district searches for a long-term solution, a baler (above) was purchased in 2005 to compress trash and allow the landfill to expand its waste storage vertically.

In late March 1999, the small town of Guernsey (population 1,147) received a letter from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) ordering the shutdown of their landfill by August 2000 because it was leaking and contaminating groundwater.

Springing into action, the town council decided to close the landfill by August 1999, a year ahead of the deadline. Since then, a private company has been hauling Guernsey’s waste.

But once waste stopped flowing to Guernsey’s old landfill, the problem of its cleanup began. Permanently closing a landfill includes activities such as capping the waste with thick soils, establishing water drainage systems and erosion controls, and monitoring water quality and landfill gases. These measures cost money. For the past six years, Guernsey officials have been doggedly pursuing funding and technical assistance to cleanup their contaminated groundwater and permanently close the old landfill.

To cover the cost of on-going maintenance of existing groundwater-monitoring systems, Guernsey raised its garbage fee to $16 per household, the ninth highest rate in the state. In addition, the Wyoming National Guard chipped in by installing groundwater-monitoring systems, which showed that groundwater flows from the landfill toward the town’s water wells.

What is the status of Wyoming’s community landfills?

The WDEQ predicts that at least 65 of the 145 operating and closed landfills in the state will eventually leak and contaminate groundwater. Today, many of the state’s 52 operating landfills are leaking, threatening nearby drinking water wells and human health.

What leaks out of a landfill? Rain and snowmelt soaks into a landfill and leaches out pollutants (also known as “leachate”) which trickle down into the soil and commonly into the groundwater. Leachate contains toxic compounds such as benzene, nickel, lead and mercury. Contrary to earlier assumptions, Wyoming’s landfills need bottom liners – a system of clay soils and a synthetic membrane – to minimize groundwater contamination.

How extensive is groundwater monitoring? Out of the state’s 145 landfills, between 80% and 85% are equipped with inadequate groundwater monitoring systems or lack a groundwater monitoring system altogether. The total estimated cost to improve groundwater monitoring is $13.7 million, according to a recent WDEQ evaluation.

Why should the state pay for landfill planning and monitoring? Under current law and regulation, Wyoming’s landfill owners are responsible for the full cost of groundwater monitoring and cleanup. However, this requirement is frequently too expensive for small towns or counties with a low property tax base.

But these efforts have not been enough. Engineering studies estimate the cost of full closure of the Guernsey landfill will range from $1.3 to 1.6 million. Although Guernsey officials have submitted grant and loan requests to the State Loan and Investment Board and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, to date, they have only received $120,350 to cover preliminary engineering expenses.

Landfill cleanup and closure is far beyond the financial capacity of small towns like Guernsey. As one town official said, “The longer we search for funding, the higher the costs.”

And Guernsey is not alone. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality estimates that 65 landfills in the state have the potential to contaminate groundwater, but few have the resources necessary to deal with the problem. In September 2005, the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee unanimously approved a bill called Solid Waste Landfill Planning and Monitoring. The committee’s action followed nearly two years of hard work by the WDEQ and the Citizens’ Advisory Group on Solid Wastes, which included Wyoming Outdoor Council staff member Michele Barlow.

The bill creates a $7.97-million matching grant program to help cities and counties monitor and analyze subsurface pollutants released from operating or closed landfills. It also requires cities and counties to prepare solid waste management plans using funds from a $1.3-million matching grant program (with larger matches for plans that include at least two cities or counties). The intent of the bill is to help towns like Guernsey deal with challenges related to solid waste cleanup and management.

Our hope is that the Wyoming State Legislature will adopt the bill to ensure that all Wyoming citizens are provided with comprehensive, safe and cost-effective solid waste management services. Look for ways to support this legislation in February.