Delaware’s New Castle County Council approved an ordinance to limit the height of landfills after the Minquadale landfill’s operator proposed a height increase for the landfill.

Waste Management (WM), which operates the landfill, requested approval from the council to raise the landfill’s height to 190 feet from 130 feet, arguing a height increase is necessary for the landfill to remain open. The push for the ordinance, however, came from residents who want to limit the height of landfills to 140 feet.

The landfill is used for construction and demolition debris. According to a Delaware Online report, Waste Management claims if the landfill is not raised higher, it will reach capacity by the end of the year. The report also notes that WM intends to challenge the council’s decision.

Delaware Online has more:

New Castle County Council approved a landfill height limit Tuesday night in an effort to foil a proposed height increase for the Minquadale landfill.

The push for the ordinance, which effectively limits the height of landfills to 140 feet, came from residents, County Council members and representatives from Artesian Water who believe the Minquadale landfill could cause air and water pollution.

Waste Management, which operates the landfill between U.S. 13 and the Jack Markell Trail, has been trying to gain approval to raise its height from 130 feet to 190 feet. It argues the height increase is necessary to remain open.

Read the full article here.