By Betsy Finklea
Have you seen several trucks a day hauling dirt on Highway 57 South? If you have, then you have seen the work that is being done to close Dillon County’s Industrial Waste (IWP) Landfill.
Each day for 8-10 hours a day, five days a week, 12-20 trucks at any given time are busy loading dirt at a borrow pit purchased by the county and taking it to the IWP Landfill. Some of the trucks are county trucks, and some are owned by Goodson Construction, who is charge of the work being done to close the landfill.
DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control) has ordered Dillon County to close the landfill by September 30th at a great expense to the county. By using county trucks, Frank Brockington, consultant to Dillon County, explained that the county is actually saving some money. He also explained that efforts are being made to keep the area dust free and to make sure that the roads they are traveling are kept in good repair to cause a minimal disruption to the area while the work is underway.
Once the dirt is hauled to the landfill, the dirt is spread, packed, and tested by a soil scientist to see if it meets the compaction standards.
The decision to close the landfill came when the laws changed in 2009 and new regulations were put in. Initially, the closure date was December 2010, but an extension was granted.
