Development of a Class II Landfill in New Jersey, 1993 Environmental Conference Proceedings

In 1983, James River Corp. initiated siting studies for a new 3.6 ha landfill that would serve three New Jersey paper mills. The facility, permitted in May 1991, is the first Class II landfill in the state. While time consuming in its development, this project is the result of the close working relationship between the state regulatory agency (the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy), the applicant (James River Corp.), ENSR, and the local community.

The amount of time required for development was not due to public opposition, but to evolving regulations and the involvement of up to 13 state agencies. Recognizing that the regulatory agency structure, land disposal regulations, and landfill engineering techniques were evolving and changing, a high degree of patience and persistence was necessary to obtain the permit and construct the first section. Construction of this section was completed in December 1991. However, start-up has been delayed pending modification of the NJPDES Permit for leachate treatment and is now anticipated for January 1993. Fortunately, some key ENSR, James River, and DEP personnel remained in the same positions during the seven-year period, which provided an uncommon continuity.

This paper presents the permitting process and key elements of the unique site characteristics, design and construction features, with recommendations for those embarking on a mill landfill development project.