Another month brings a fresh round of landfill expansion news. This time it includes an early procedural step in Michigan, where GFL Environmental must convince local officials to incorporate an expansion of the Arbor Hills Landfill into the county’s pending materials management plan. Louisiana, meanwhile, has approved an expansion of an existing private landfill that makes the facility the largest in the state.
There’s also some notable landfill closure-related news, including in California, where the attorney general approved a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act consent decree. Below is a selection of highlights from the past month.
Louisiana’s largest landfill approved
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality on Sept. 3 approved River Birch Landfill’s expansion request, which allows the operator to take over the adjacent closed Greater New Orleans Landfill site and significantly expand its service area.
In fiscal year 2023, the River Birch landfill had a permitted capacity of 58.8 million wet tons, with nearly 28.2 million wet tons of capacity remaining, according to Louisiana DEQ’s biennial landfill capacity report. That put the landfill’s estimated remaining life at more than 21 years, per the official account…