A landfill northeast of Childersburg has filed a request with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to quadruple its area of operations, according to a public notice posted late last month.

If the request is granted, WCA of Alabama, LLC, would increase "the permitted facility area from 25.12 acres to 104.88 acres and the permitted disposal area from 16.32 acres to 57.95 acres," according to the public notice.

According to ADEM spokesman Jerome Hand, the facility area refers to the overall size of the operation, including roads and buildings, where as the disposal area refers only to the landfill itself.

The release goes on to state that the "landfill would remain non-hazardous industrial wastes, construction and demolition wastes, asbestos and automobile shredder dirt and fluff. The service area for the … landfill would remain Bibb, Calhoun, Clay, Chilton, Cleburne, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties in Alabama. The maximum average daily volume of waste disposed at the WCA of Alabama Industrial Landfill would remain 750 tons per day."

In spite of the documented ill effects asbestos can have on peoples' health, Hand said that it is not considered a hazardous material under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the federal law that regulates solid waste disposal.

"Not all landfills can take asbestos, but a lot of them can," he said.

The public comment period will last until July 31, Hand said. "In order to affect the final decisions, comments must offer technically substantial information that is applicable to the proposed project," according to the release. "A written request for a public hearing may also be filed within the 35-day period and must state the nature of the issue proposed to be raised in the hearing. The director shall hold a public hearing upon receipt of a significant number of technical requests."

ADEM will answer any concerns raised in writing or during the public hearing that will be a part of the public record.

According to Talladega County tax records, the landfill is part of a 200-acre parcel in Alpine owned by Stephens Properties Incorporated in Birmingham. The property formerly housed the Beaunit Mill.

Those wishing to address concerns to ADEM should write to:

Russell A. Kelly, Chief

Permits and Services Division, ADEM

P.O. Box 301463, Montgomery, Ala. 36130-1463

For more information, please visit www.adem.state.al.us.