More money needs to be poured into the site of the old Starke County Landfill. Brian Horvath, the Senior Project Manager of Weaver and Boos Consultants appeared before the Starke County Commissioners this week to report on conditions at the landfill.
Of the 12 probes placed on the property to detect methane gas, four showed up positive. The county now has 60 days to correct the situation.
Horvath said that trench 15 to 20 feet deep will need to be dug and then filled with gravel . The trench will provide a preferential pathway for any gas in the ground. The gas would then be vented into the atmosphere.
According to Horvath, this gas is produced as garbage degrades in the old landfill.
He said this is typical for older landfills like the one in question northeast of Bass Lake on 625 east and 550 south.
Commissioner Dan Bridegroom talked about the mandate, and the cost of the project.
“We’re going to have to spend an estimated $150,000, but that $150,000 was if we hired it all done,” said Bridegroom. “There was some legislation passed last July where we can actually use our highway department to do work within our own government agencies to help us out. I think we can pare down that price somewhat.”
Horvath said a remediation plan has to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for approval. If the county does part of the work, Weaver and Boos would want technicians on hand to monitor the methane and oxygen levels to prevent an explosion while the trench is being constructed.
