Lake County launches study into landfill expansion, solar and renewable-gas options

Lake County commissioners voted Sept. 10 to spend $700,000 on a technical evaluation of a possible new section at the county’s licensed municipal solid-waste landfill at 2039 Blase Nemeth Road in Painesville. They authorized a study — not a larger landfill or either of the energy projects also under consideration at the site.

Lake County Commissioners Morris W. Beverage III, John T. Plecnik and Morgan R. McIntosh selected Mannik & Smith Group Inc. to conduct the landfill evaluation. Its findings will help commissioners decide whether the county needs another section and whether a proposed site is suitable for one.

The capacity question

The county’s July 2024 draft solid-waste-management plan estimated that the landfill had 23 years of capacity remaining. It also found enough room for waste generated within the district throughout the plan’s Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2040, planning period.

For Lake County households, that means disposal space is not an immediate problem. The estimate also gives the county time to study what capacity it will need over the longer term, what another landfill section could cost and affect, and where it could be placed before making a construction decision.

The county sought proposals for a hydrogeologic site evaluation under the name “Lake County Solid Waste Landfill Expansion Project.” Mannik & Smith’s work is intended to provide the technical basis the county would need if commissioners later decide to seek state approval for a new section.

Energy options

The county is separately seeking proposals for a solar installation at the solid-waste site and for a project that would turn landfill gas into renewable natural gas.

Those proposals are due Oct. 14 and remain under evaluation. The $700,000 vote covers the landfill technical work; it did not authorize construction of the solar or renewable-gas projects.

Decisions and public input

Mannik & Smith’s findings do not commit the county to an expansion. Commissioners would still have to decide whether to pursue one, weigh its cost and local effects, and define a proposed footprint before submitting an application to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

A new landfill section would require a permit to install under Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3745-27-06. Ohio EPA’s review includes public notice, an information session, a comment period and hearing, agency responses to comments and a final decision.

If Lake County applies, Ohio EPA says it will publish notices in its Weekly Review and in local newspapers of general circulation. Comments and requests for public meetings or adjudication hearings generally go to the agency’s Hearing Clerk unless the notice gives different instructions.

Residents do not have to wait for the state process to follow the county’s choices. The commissioners’ office posts meeting agendas, minutes and video, and residents can raise questions as the study is presented — before commissioners choose whether to proceed and before any landfill footprint is selected.