Agency Orders Work Halted On Landfill Near Williamson County Airport

Developers of a Southern Illinois landfill will have to stop work immediately, after the FAA said they hadn't filed the proper paperwork.

As ANN reported in August, government officials were worried that the landfill was too close to the airport. Moreover, the FAA says the developer of the 189-acre landfill is thinking about changing the purpose of the landfill from household waste to demolition or construction waste. But FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said the Kibler Development Corporation hadn't filed any paperwork on the change. No paperwork, no landfill.

The site, which was already being surveyed by Kibler, is close to the Williamson County Airport near Marion (IL). While the company had planned to finish an access road into the site, Molinaro told the Southern Illinoisan that Kibler "must first file paperwork asking us to do a compatibility study. Nothing can be pursued (on their end) until that study is completed and we come to a decision on whether or not to grant permission for that construction."

Molinaro said a compatibility study would take 60 to 90 days to complete.

"We look at the safety of the airport first," he told the Southern Illinoisan. "If we can be assured that the landfill will be used only for construction waste and not grow beyond a certain height, then and only then may permission be granted to build the landfill.

"But let me make it clear that we will need exact information from the developer about the location of the landfill, for example, what kind of waste will be disposed, the projected lifespan of the landfill, and more."

The issue with household garbage is that it can rot, creating explosive gases. Kibler says, by switching from a household waste landfill to a demolition landfill, the company needs no approval from the FAA. Molinaro says, think again. 

FMI: www.faa.gov