The new estimated construction timeline, under optimal conditions, puts the opening of Peoria City/County’s Landfill 3 in early Spring 2027.
The update came from GFL Environmental Area Landfill Director Tim Curry at Wednesday’s meeting of the Landfill Solid Waste Commission. The planned construction of Landfill 3 in rural Peoria County outside of Edwards has been on hold for more than a year, after historic geologic surveys raised concerns about an abandoned subterranean mine.
That mine, Black Jewel No. 2, was determined to have operated in a different coal seam on the site than originally thought. The determination from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources [IDNR] clears up some questions about the location of the mine and the potential threat it poses to landfill construction, but leaves more exact details unclear.
Curry said, after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency rejected a proposal to begin construction in some parts of the proposed landfill site while continuing to investigate others, the agency is going to require more drilling on the site before greenlighting a permit and moving the project forward.
Curry hopes GFL will be able to do the boring investigation in partnership with IDNR, though he acknowledged it will have to happen whether the government agency is interested or not.
“Whether they fund all of it, whether they fund a portion of it, whether they fund none of it, we intend to partner with them to get those exploratory drillings started,” he said.
Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., a firm that previously peer reviewed available data on the Landfill 3 site for GFL, is putting together a boring and drilling plan. Curry said this is at least a three- to four-week process, followed by an approximately two-month field evaluation of the site.
Assuming IDNR or another suitable partner is found in that time, Curry said the project of performing an estimated 20 or more drillings at the site will take at least another three to four months.
If nothing concerning is found, and the IEPA is hasty in re-approving the construction permits, Landfill 3 could be open by Spring 2027. Curry said this is about a six- to nine-month delay from estimated timelines if the IEPA had allowed construction to happen concurrently with the additional investigation.
At the same time, Landfill 2 is filling up. A representative of operators Waste Management told the committee a drone survey of the landfill took place earlier this month. While the operators are still waiting on the volume analysis, the estimate for Landfill 2 being at full capacity is early 2025.
Curry said GFL has submitted a request to the IEPA to temporarily haul trash to the nearby Indian Creek Landfill in the interim. The IEPA has 90 days to review.
Commission chairman Stephen Morris said city, county and GFL leadership plan to meet within the next few weeks and hammer out exact details of the interim period between the closing of Landfill 2 and the opening of Landfill 3.
More details are expected at the next commission meeting on Wednesday, Aug, 21.
