12/15/2009
County to consider buying Leichner Landfill to plan new uses
Vancouver, WA – Clark County could purchase the closed Leichner Landfill and adjacent properties north of Orchards to prepare for the site’s future reuse, following additional study.
The Board of Clark County Commissioners today authorized the board chair to sign a nonbinding letter of intent to purchase about 120 acres, including the 74-acre landfill and adjacent properties.
Most of the purchase money would come from a reserve fund managed by Clark County and the city of Vancouver for the landfill’s post-closure maintenance and monitoring. This reserve fund can be used only for landfill-related activities. The county road fund could pay for about 11 acres for the planned extension of Northeast 99th Street north of the landfill. Together, the two dedicated funds could provide $1.5 million to complete the purchase.
The landfill, which for more than five decades received most of Clark County’s solid waste, was closed at the end of 1991. The county’s garbage is now transported by barge up the Columbia River to the Finley Buttes Landfill near Boardman, Ore.
The county will have 120 days to study the purchase, a “due diligence” period that can be extended, if necessary. If the county decides to buy the site, it likely would start a master planning process for the area, with public participation and comment in drafting a blueprint for future reuse.
Closed landfills often are used for passive recreation, such as trails. A 35-acre portion of the proposed 120-acre purchase is flat, has no buried waste and is zoned for light-industrial uses. Any reuses cannot interfere with post-closure maintenance and monitoring of the closed landfill.
One potential reuse is a waste-to-energy facility where the landfill’s contents could be cleanly burned to generate electricity, create jobs and produce a clean site.
“Waste to energy is an emerging field, a way to turn a negative into a positive,” Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart said. “Although I am intrigued by the potential, I also know we are a long ways off from deciding what should be done and that community participation will be critical in crafting a path forward.”
For more information on the Leichner Landfill, including a map and a list of frequently asked questions, go to: www.clark.wa.gov/recycle/leichner.html.
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