Landfill builders request millions

Four firms point to cost of state's ban

Four groups seeking to build large landfills in North Carolina have asked for nearly $25 million as compensation for the state's decision last year to bar landfills in certain areas.

State lawmakers allowed companies that had pending applications for landfills to recoup their costs, if their projects were derailed by an overhaul of the state's landfill regulations.

Waste Industries of Raleigh, which acquired a 1,000-acre site in Camden County to build the Black Bear landfill, is seeking $13.6 million. Waste Management of the Carolinas and Riegel Ridge Partners filed separate requests totalling $8.6 million for a landfill project proposed in Columbus County. And Alligator River Recycling sought $2.4 million to recoup its expenses for a proposed construction debris landfill in Hyde County.

The costs cover a range of expenses including engineering, legal fees, site studies and staff travel expenses.

State regulators will review the requests, which were due by the end of December. Some may get whittled. Waste Industries' request includes $8.2 million for land costs, which the state law specifically said is not reimbursable.

"We'll be giving this a thorough and complete review," said Paul Crissman, chief of the solid waste section in the state Division of Waste Management.

In August, the General Assembly approved more stringent regulation of landfills. Lawmakers cited concern that several large regional landfills proposed in Eastern North Carolina could turn the state into one of the nation's top five importers of garbage. The landfill operators proposed to haul in trash by truck, rail and barge from sites up and down the East Coast.

The law doesn't ban the importation of out-of-state trash. Courts have found such bans to be unconstitutional.

Instead, the law prevents the construction of a landfill within five miles of a national wildlife refuge, two miles of a state park or one mile of state game land. It also requires greater buffer areas from streams. Those provisions blocked proposals for large landfills in Camden, Hyde and Columbus counties.

In December, Waste Industries filed a lawsuit against the the state, contending the stricter regulation was aimed specifically at preventing construction of its Black Bear landfill. The lawsuit calls the new law arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional.

The compensation will come from a new $2 per ton tax on garbage that will start being collected in July. State officials estimate the tax will generate more than $20 million a year, which will be used to clean up abandoned landfill sites.