Date: Fri 05-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

landfill-ballfields-Kasbarian

Full Text:

Ballfields On The Landfill? It Could Happen Someday

BY STEVE BIGHAM

As concerns over a shortage of ball fields persists in Newtown, one large

town-owned piece of land lies vacant -- the former landfill on Ethan Allen

Road.

All across the country, communities are finding new ways to reclaim their old

landfills. They are covering the junk over with dirt, waiting for a decade or

so, then building everything from parks to golf courses and driving ranges on

top of it. In Virginia, thousands of thrill seekers make their way to Mount

Trashmore each year for some fun in the sun. The theme park is now littered

with water slides and amusement rides, and it all takes place on a huge pile

of garbage.

Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian believes that Newtown's landfill

might someday be the only resource available to the town for recreational

space.

"It could be the answer to our land problems in the future. If you're looking

10-15 years down the line, it's very possible there will be no open space left

in Newtown," she said.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said it would probably take 10-15 years for

the area to be ready for some other use, but it could be done. That length of

time would be needed to allow the ground to settle and the gases to dissipate.

There are numerous state and federal regulations regarding the re-use of

landfills, Mr Hurley said.

According to the national guidelines, a reclaimed landfill constructed to the

proper standards (including a liner, cap, leachate and gas collection system,

and erosion controls) provides a site that can help a community meet its

recreational needs.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans produced more than

195 million tons of solid waste in 1990, a statistic that is expected to

increase to 220 million tons by the year 2000.

Newtown's former landfill features about 20 acres of relatively flat land.

The Parks & Recreation Department currently has a $2.5 million proposal for a

sports complex in the town's Capital Improvement Plan. The request has been in

the plan for several years and has not received a high-priority rating.

"We put that in there many years ago with the thought in mind that when (the

landfill) was ready we could use it," Mrs Kasbarian said.

Newtown's landfill was officially closed November 1, 1993 in response to an

order from the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The

town's application to increase the height of the landfill was denied.

At the time of its closure, an estimated 80,000 cubic yards of trash or 30,000

tons of junk were dumped there.

The former landfill is currently perforated with vent pipes to prevent gas

from building up beneath the soil.