By Associated Press - Saturday, December 2, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The wisdom of a decision made years ago can be seen in the lack of interest in Lincoln’s announcement that it is seeking a state permit to open the east half of the city landfill property.

The city has notified the more than 40 properties within 1,000 feet of the Bluff Road landfill, the Lincoln Journal Star reported .

The landfill location was greatly contested at public hearings three decades ago when city officials were deciding on where to originally place it. The city considered six potential sites, some of which drew opposition from the airport and even the city’s mayor at the time.

“There was so much opposition; it was incredible,” said Ann Bleed, a former head of the state Water Resources Department who served on committees involved with the landfill’s development.

One of those committees recommended the city buy twice as much land as it needed at the time, so it would not have to go through the same contentious selection process for a long time.

City officials don’t expect the current landfill to reach capacity for another 10 to 15 years, but a permit application may take many years to process.

The permit will allow for the development of a landfill or solid waste processing center, which would provide a place for composting, material recovery or a recycling center, said Donna Garden, assistant director of the city’s Department of Public Works and Utilities.

Closing and monitoring the current landfill is estimated to cost $22.5 million and opening the new location would cost $10 million. The city has put about $600,000 this year into a reserve fund for the project, Garden said.

City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Monday. City staff said they don’t anticipate seeing much opposition to the expansion at the hearing.

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com

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