Graham Road Recycling & Disposal Facility recently received two conditional-use permits from Spokane County, moving it a step closer to proceeding with a multimillion-dollar expansion of its 40-acre landfill just west of Fairchild Air Force Base.


Graham Road Recycling, which is owned by Houston-based Waste Management Inc., applied for the county permits in 1996. Steve Wulf, Graham Road Recyclings divisional landfill manager, says it still is unclear, however, when the expansion project will begin.


The permits from the county allowed us to cross a significant hurdle, Wulf says. There still are other hurdles to overcome, though, he says. For instance, the landfill must receive an operational permit from the Spokane Regional Health District before it can proceed with the project. It recently began the application process for that permit.


Also, neighbors of the landfill have until next week to contest the conditional-use permits approved by the county, Wulf says. Neighbors have contested the project since it was proposed, citing environmental and property-value concerns.


One of the conditional-use permits would allow the company to construct six additional lined waste-disposal areas on a portion of an 80-acre property located just north of the landfill, which is located on Graham Road just south of U.S. 2 near Medical Lake. The other permit would allow the landfill to excavate clay soilsfor use as liner materialfrom 45 acres of a 172-acre parcel that it hopes to acquire just south of the facility and to fill that excavated area with inert material such as concrete, rock, and clean soil, Wulf says.


The Spokane County hearing examiner put some conditions on the approval of the conditional-use permits. One condition requires the landfill to construct a berm around the project, which alone is expected to cost about $1.5 million, Wulf says. The county also is requiring the landfill to develop a deceleration lane from U.S. 2 onto Graham Road, he says.


Once the expansion is completed, Graham Road Recycling would own nearly 300 acres of land at the site and operate a total of nine lined disposal areas.


The current 40-acre landfill, known as a limited-purpose facility, includes three lined disposal areas. It accepts construction and demolition waste, such as asphalt, concrete, rock, and wood, as well as tree stumps, asbestos, and tires. It doesnt accept food waste or food-waste containers, grass clippings, liquids of any sort, chemicals, or appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners.


Wulf says that the landfill is excited to receive the permits from the county because the expansion project is needed to meet rising local demand for safe, accessible, cost-efficient waste disposal.