MANOR TOWNSHIP, Lancaster County — The Frey Farm Landfill received permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to expand vertically and horizontally and to increase its average daily and maximum daily volumes, the agency announced in a press release Thursday.
The landfill was projected to reach its capacity in 2019, based on its current rate of operation. The expansion is expected at add an addition 18 years of capacity to the facility, the DEP said.
“After our thorough evaluation of all the available information, DEP feels this expansion approval gives the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority the additional capacity required to meet the waste disposal needs of the citizens of Lancaster County for the foreseeable future,” said DEP South-central Regional Director Joseph Adams in the announcement.
The permit allows the landfill an additional 50 feet of maximum peak elevation to its vertical expansion and nine acres of lateral expansion, the DEP said. The daily average volume will increase from 1,500 tons to 2,500 tons per day, and the maximum daily volume will increase from 2,000 tons to 3,000 tons per day.
“The increases in average and maximum daily volumes will account for increases in population and corresponding increases in waste generated in Lancaster County,” said Adams. “The additional volumes will also enable LCSWMA to maintain reserve capacity in the event of disruption to service at its two waste-to-energy facilities, and provide additional capacity for special waste disposal events such as natural disasters and large construction demolition projects.”
LCSWMA submitted its permit application to DEP in January 2015. Using comments received at a public hearing in July 2015, DEP conducted an extensive and thorough review of the application, and approved the environmental assessment in January 2017.
In response to public concerns, LCSWMA has committed to developing a Landscape Synthesis Plan, which includes plantings on the final cover to incrementally blend the landfill into the surrounding countryside. Additionally, a comprehensive Transportation Compliance Plan has been developed along with the creation of a Transportation Compliance position to further ensure that waste-hauling trucks are operated in a safe manner along the designated haul routes.
Frey Farm’s current waste permit runs until May 2021.
