Wider buffers around Harford County?s landfill should be able to protect the Deer Creek watershed from runoff and neighboring properties from the pollution, county council members said Tuesday.
The council unanimously passed a bill this week widening the required “buffer” around the Scarboro Landfill so there will be at least 1,000 feet between Deer Creek and active areas of garbage dumping, and 500 feet from any adjoining residential properties.
County law had previously allowed a minimum of 200 feet all around thelandfill.
“When you look at it, 200 feet isn?t really that much,” said Councilman Chad Shrodes, who represents the area and co-sponsored the bill. “When you?re looking at a landfill, it?s really not enough.”
However, the bill?s effects won?t be felt immediately: the 500-foot buffer near residential properties will only apply to future expansions ? not the 76-acre expansion already approved by the state, Shrodes said.
The 1,000-foot buffer would only apply when the active part of the landfill approaches the Deer Creek watershed on its southern side, which it may not do if the county finds other ways to take care of its trash.
“If we can come to an agreement on the waste-to-energy plant expansion, they won?t need that southern expansion for another 40 years,” said Council President Billy Boniface.
If the southern expansion is needed, the wider buffer requirement would reduce the usable area enough to shave about five years off the lifespan of the landfill, Boniface said.
The bill, which widens the buffers from 200 feet, was amended to remove a requirement that the county build a dirt “berm” between the landfill and the surrounding property because it would have cost between $2.4 million and $5 million.
“I didn?t want to see this bill go down in flames,” said Boniface, who pushed the amendments to make the bill palatable to the rest of the council.
