Eastern Area Landfill
The Eastern Area Landfill is a public landfill operated by the City of Birmingham on 370 acres north of the Alton community and south of Pinchgut Creek near Trussville. The landfill opened in the early 1970s, and is permitted to accept 1,200 tons per day of solid waste. The Birmingham Department of Public Works currently uses 48 acres for disposal, although for several years city collected waste was sent to the New Georgia Landfill until an expansion of the Eastern Area Landfill was completed in 2019.
The public drop-off facility is located on Alton Drive near its intersection with Alton Road west of I-459. Gated access to the site is also located on Mary Taylor Road, south of U.S. Highway 78. The facility is managed by Dan Johnson.
Trussville's Magnolia Place subdivision was developed just east of the landfill property and Trussville City Schools has constructed the Magnolia Elementary School just north of the subdivision.
In late 2012 the Magnolia Place Homeowners’ Association filed a complaint to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) alleging that the city was in violation of permitted procedures for covering waste and controlling erosion and runoff, and that silt from the landfill was choking a holding pond built as part of the residential development. Some corrections were made to covering waste and silt-fencing. ADEM found no evidence that silt from the landfill was entering Magnolia Place, but did find evidence of erosion from construction of an access road, and some silting of in an unnamed tributary of Stinking Creek, south of the site. On May 3, 2016 the City entered into consent order which included a stipulated fine of $33,000, and required the city to submit a compliance report including monthly discharge monitoring reports to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Water Act.
In 2013 the Birmingham City Council approved a resolution allowing the Public Works Department to seek permission to use more of the property under the Birmingham Solid Waste Management Plan, extending the projected end of service for the landfill from the early 2020s to the 2040s.
Engineering work for a new 20-acre cell was approved by the City Council in June 2017, with construction set to begin in the summer of 2018 and service to start in spring 2019. The cost for preparing the cell was estimated at around $7 million.
References
- LLoyd, Gary (October 18, 2013) "Updated: Birmingham approves landfill modification, could be open 30 more years near proposed Trussville school site." Trussville Tribune
- Kortright, Amalia (June 10, 2016) "ADEM concludes investigation on Eastern Area Landfill." Trussville Tribune