Landfill Engineering and Solid Waste Consulting – Escambia County, Florida

escambia county landfillSince 1991, we have provided comprehensive solid waste consulting services to Escambia County.

Our landfill services include site investigations, environmental audits, master planning, disaster response, permitting, design, construction, construction quality assurance, planning and request-for-proposal preparation and contract negotiation. A narrative description of solid waste services is further down the page.

The duties of SCS Engineers on this project are summarized below:

  • Organizational analysis of the county’s solid waste department, including preparation of recommendations for increasing efficiency of operations.
  • Strategic assessment of landfill operations, design and environmental compliance at the Perdido Landfill. This assignment identified nearly $8.5 million in improvements and established a four-year plan of action to implement the improvements.
  • Class I and Class III Landfill operations permit renewals in 1995 and 2000.
  • Design and permitting for Class I and III vertical and horizontal landfill expansions.
  • Design and construction quality assurance services for 9-acre, 10-acre and 11-acre lateral landfill cell expansions (Section 3a, 3b, and 3c). SCS redesigned the liner system and provided CQA services during the installation of the liner system for Section 3a.
  • Design and construction services for $3.9 million in stormwater and leachate management systems for the landfill. SCS also provided full-time resident engineering services. The project was completed below budget and set the stage for retiring the consent order.
  • Design of landfill gas recovery system and monitoring network.
  • Preliminary design of new seven-mile long leachate force main from the landfill to the ECUA sewer systems.
  • Design/permitting for damage repairs from Hurricanes Erin and Opal at the landfill.
  • Design of new tire processing and storage area.
  • NPDES permitting for various stormwater discharges.
  • Preparation of annual closure and post-closure cost updates.
  • Evaluation of performance of material recovery facility.
  • Landfill management organizational study.
  • Design of modifications to wetlands treatment system and preparation of permit modification for Industrial wastewater discharge permit.
  • Preparation of the Title V permit for the Perdido Landfill.
  • Rate studies.
  • Preparation of request for proposal for privatization of the County’s landfill operations, and year-long negotiations with the selected vendor.

SCS provides solid waste consulting services to Escambia County; our work includes over 35 task orders ranging from policy analysis and development to recycling market studies, waste composition and weighing programs, citizen and hauler surveys, engineering design for facility improvements, traffic and siting studies, and commercial waste generation examination.

The County began to the evaluation of various consolidation options for solid waste services with the City of Pensacola and the Emerald Coast Utility Authority. The County franchised collection of residential solid waste services within its unincorporated areas. As part of an ongoing negotiation of new franchise agreements with private haulers, SCS was engaged to conduct a survey of local governments throughout Florida to ascertain typical solid waste franchise operations.

SCS assisted the County in developing new franchise agreements, which reflect future management and planning needs of the County. The principal objective of this study was to help evaluate new franchise agreements in light of national, regional, and state trends in solid waste franchising. SCS worked with the County to gather franchisee/stakeholder comments on these proposed changes and recommend adjustments in the existing non-exclusive franchise agreements for commercial solid wastes.

SCS also assisted the County in conducting audits of the existing solid waste franchisees to ensure that they were complying with the requirements of the agreements and remittances made to the County for services rendered to customers in the unincorporated areas.

Based on data and information provided by County, a solid waste rate model was developed, which enabled SCS to make projections of financial performance of refuse disposal for the upcoming five-year planning period (2007-2011), and to model various user rate structures to help plan for future solid waste fleet replacements.

SCS also reviewed current operational and business practices and made recommendations to the BOCC for costs savings and revenue enhancements as part of its overall business plan for the department. We analyzed potential operational changes in solid waste and trash collection as well as transfer station operation and modeled the rate impact with these changes. As a result of these efforts, SCS recommended revised solid waste rates for residential customers.

Highlights of the SCS services provided include:

  • Citizen Surveys
  • Solid Waste Rates
  • Solid Waste Level of Services
  • Franchise Audits
  • Assistance With Negotiation of New Franchise Agreements
  • Stakeholder Meetings