SKB gets OK to expand landfill; compost plan tabled

Talk about it

Trash and what to do with it were the topics of the night for the Rosemount Planning Commission. And while one project got approval another was tabled so the commission can get more information.

SKB Environmental received the go ahead from the planning commission to expand its facility in the coming years. The expansion will eventually add 39 acres to the site.

The commission continued a public hearing Tuesday. The first was held in August. During Tuesday night’s meeting SKB addressed issues brought up by the planning commission. The biggest issue that stemmed from the first meeting was wetland mitigation and stormwater issues.

To expand, the company will have to fill in some wetlands on the property. In order to do that the city requires that the company create nearly two acres of wetland for every one it fills.

To fulfill the requirement the company will build two wetland areas — one east of the current area and one west. City planner Eric Zweber said the design of the wetland mitigation areas will be integrated with the stormwater design.

The wetland mitigation areas will be located adjacent to two stormwater basins next to the western wetland and another basin near the eastern wetland. The basins will control the rate of stormwater entering the wetland and will improve the quality of the wetland by removing sediment. Zweber said the basins also will be designed to provide the greatest amount of stormwater into the wetland areas.

Staff will continue to work with SKB on some of the nuances of the project, Zweber said.

The issue will be presented to the city council sometime in September. Zweber said a city council work session Sept. 10 will deal with some of the financial aspects of the project.

If that discussion goes well, Zweber expects the council will make a decision on the project at the Sept. 16 meeting.

Getting city council approval is only the beginning for SKB. The company will also have to get approval from Dakota County and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

In other business the planning commission tabled a decision on a proposed compost facility. The proposed facility would be built on property south of Bonaire Path and a half mile west of Blaine Avenue on property owned by Flint Hills Refinery. Flint Hills leases the land to Vestarra, which runs a gravel mine on the property.

The proposed Metro Compost and Sand facility would compost landscape materials such as grass clippings and leaves collected from Ramsey County, company representative Gary Kurth told the commission. The company would then take the materials after they have composted and mix them with 25 percent sand from the mine and sell it to Home Depot stores.

During the public hearing resident Myron Knapper said neighbors of the property do not want the facility because it would smell. Knapper asked that the issue be tabled so he could send around a petition against it to his neighbors.

During a fairly long discussion about the project commissioners brought up several concerns including possible odors from the facility, potential impacts to surrounding properties and outside storage of products.

The commission directed staff to work with the Metro Compost to come up with some resolutions to the issues brought up. The commission will discuss the request again at the Sept. 23 planning commission meeting.

Tags: news, landfull, expansion