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<br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 1, 2000 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~~ <br />SUBJECT: Landfill Landscape Restoration Plan <br />DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (YlN) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Proposed Restoration Project Contract <br />10/9/00 Proposal from Swanson and <br />Associates <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Gayle Wilson 968-2885 <br />Blair Pollock 968-2788 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-501 <br />Durham 688-7331. <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approving a contract with Swanson and Associates to develop an <br />interim plan for landscaping and revegetating the closed portion of the landfill north of Eubanks <br />Road and the construction and demolition (C8~D) landfill area that is expected to reach capacity <br />in 2002. <br />BACKGROUND: Federal regulations require that entities operating landfills closely monitor and <br />maintain those closed landfills for a period of 30 years following closure. Staff included a <br />proposal in the 2000-01 fiscal year budget to pursue a pilot project that would examine the best <br />ways to restore the closed areas at the Eubanks Road landfill to a natural state that is <br />aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sensitive, subject to any regulatory constraints. The <br />revegetation plan contemplated under this agreement would be implemented for the period of <br />the 30-year regulatory post-closure period.. At some time in the future, perhaps 10-15 years <br />from today, a permanent master development plan for the property could be developed that <br />could draw on the information collected from the County's actual experience with the interim <br />landscaping and revegetation project. The revegetation plan was reviewed and discussed by <br />the Solid Waste Advisory Board at its October 12, 2000 meeting. <br />The intention of the study and planting plan is to determine what types of habitats are <br />appropriate for the site, what are their wildlife potentials, how to integrate them into the site and <br />opportunities for education and interpretation that could be provided on the site. The work <br />product is a detailed landscape restoration plan for the closed portion and a schematic and <br />detailed implementation strategy for closure of the C&D area and surrounding landscape. <br />The 35-acre portion that is already closed was used for waste burial from 1972- 1995 and is <br />now covered with lespediza grass. There is a passive methane gas venting system with pipes <br />protruding throughout the site. This closure design meets or exceeds state performance <br />standards for closed landiflls. The 11-acre C&D site, due to be closed within the next eighteen <br />