Three groups that had planned to build large landfills in Eastern North Carolina will be reimbursed a portion of the expenses they racked up before their proposals were barred by a new state law.

In a decision announced today, the N.C. Division of Waste Management determined that the groups were due a total of nearly $3 million for going through a permitting process before the rules changed last year.

The General Assembly adopted new construction standards, setting wider buffers between new landfills and environmentally sensitive areas such as national wildlife refuges, state gamelands and parks. As a result, landfills proposed by the companies were no longer eligible for consideration.

Each of the companies, however, contended they had already spent millions of dollars seeking state approval using the old rules. Under the agreement, the state will pay a portion of each company's application costs.

• Alligator River Recycling, which proposed a landfill for construction and demolition debris in Hyde County, requested $2.40 million. The state will reimburse $742,000.

• Waste Industries USA and Black Bear Disposal, which had a municipal and solid waste landfill project pending in Camden County, requested $13.6 million. The state will reimburse them $775,000.

• Riegel Ridge and Waste Management of the Carolinas, which had proposed a municipal and solid waste landfill in Camden County, requested $2.37 million. The state will reimburse them $1.6 million.

Some costs submitted for reimbursement were rejected if they were considered unreasonable or lacked documentation, the division said in a news release. Waste Management officials determined that a fourth request for reimbursement of $6.3 million by Riegel Ridge Partners in Columbus County was not eligible for reimbursement.

The funds for reimbursement will come from a statewide tip fee of $2 per ton of waste disposed at landfills, which was part of the solid waste legislation enacted last year. Funds from the tip fee also will be used for assessment and cleanup of more than 650 old landfills and the improvement of local waste management and reduction programs.