Lake County is moving ahead with plans for a roughly 95-acre expansion of its county landfill, a project officials say would stretch the site's disposal capacity for decades. The Department of Utilities has issued a public solicitation seeking engineering and hydrogeologic firms to study county-owned land directly east of the existing disposal cells. That subsurface work is expected to support state permitting and later design phases with the Ohio EPA.
What the county wants the study to cover
The county is asking for statements of qualifications from firms that can provide engineering, hydrogeologic, drilling and laboratory services for a hydrogeologic site evaluation, as laid out in Lake County's public notice. The scope includes drilling and installing monitoring wells, testing aquifers and groundwater, conducting geotechnical characterization and preparing a combined hydrogeologic and geotechnical report for Ohio EPA review.
Capacity numbers and local estimates
County estimates provided to Cleveland.com indicate that already-built landfill cells have more than six years of remaining capacity, while the site as a whole has about 16 years of permitted life under current approvals. Officials told the outlet that adding the proposed 95-acre expansion would extend the facility's permitted life to roughly 100 years.
Schedule and how to apply
According to Lake County's public notice, firms have until Wednesday, Aug. 12, to submit statements of qualifications to the Department of Utilities' engineering office. After that, the department will rank the teams and begin contract negotiations with the consultant it deems most qualified, the notice states.
Why the subsurface work matters
Lake County's draft Solid Waste Management Plan has already shown how remaining life estimates can shift as new data and assumptions come in, which makes early fieldwork critical for accurate planning and backup options. The plan and related county documents describe multi-year permitting and capacity planning cycles that will incorporate the hydrogeologic information gathered through this evaluation.
Timeline, cost and what comes next
County officials told Cleveland.com that permitting and design work could take about two years, and that the board has set aside roughly $800,000 for the hydrogeologic evaluation and report. The outlet also reported that the county expects construction of the first new landfill cell to take about one year after Ohio EPA approval, and that the expansion project would include upgrades to the landfill gas collection systems.
For now, the key dates to watch are the Aug. 12 deadline for statements of qualifications and any contract award announcements from the Department of Utilities. Residents with concerns about groundwater, traffic or other impacts may want to keep an eye on upcoming county commissioners' agendas and the county's procurement and public-notice postings for details on public meetings and comment opportunities.
