LCSWMA’s Frey Farm Borrow Project Takes Shape

In February 2011, the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) began construction on the Frey Farm Landfill (FFLF) Parcels 4 and 5 Soil Borrow Project.

In February 2011, the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) began construction on the Frey Farm Landfill (FFLF) Parcels 4 and 5 Soil Borrow Project. This project involves the soil-borrow and restoration of approximately 87 acres of land adjacent to the former Creswell Landfill, as well as construction of access roads and pads to facilitate the relocation of six (6) support towers for a 230 kV electrical transmission line owned by PPL.

Throughout the anticipated 2-year construction project, approximately 1, 043, 800 cubic yards of soil will be sourced from the Parcels 4 and 5 borrow area, and stockpiled at a location adjacent to the entrance of the FFLF. The soil borrow and stockpiling activities include extensive site preparation and earthwork (including the demolition of the existing agriculture facilities and numerous utility relocations), and replacement of groundwater and landfill gas monitoring structures, and the construction of stormwater management controls including, culverts, channels, basins, and sediment traps.

The soil borrow area within Parcels 4 and 5 is subject to an extensive restoration process to reclaim the area following soil borrow activities; this process includes the replacement of vegetative subsoil and vegetative topsoil, prior to achieving stabilization with grasses and seed mixtures native and non-invasive to the region. Once the project is completed, nearly 70 acres will be preserved as open space.

In September 2011, the site contractor, Abel Construction, Inc., reached the initial milestone in this project with the completion of the Parcel 5 soil-borrow activities. This achievement comes after approximately 9 years of extensive environmental engineering and permitting activities that ARM completed on behalf of LCSWMA, including a comprehensive soil test pit excavation and soil sampling program, monitoring well installations, ecological surveys, cultural resource evaluations, and field reconnaissance activities, threatened and endangered species assessments, and completion and approval of the Phases I and II components of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) Major Permit Modification Application (PMA).

ARM and LCSWMA have ensured that the project plans meet community requirements related to zoning, nuisance minimization (i.e., dust, noise, and setback distances), and requirements for the soil removal project timeline specified within a community agreement between local citizens and LCSWMA.