Black Hawk County Solid Waste Management Commission has received an Innovative Solid Waste Project Award from the the Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations in October for its efforts for its efforts to reduce its environmental impact on the community by collecting its landfill gas, upgrading it to bio gas for use as a vehicle fuel. For years, Black Hawk County Solid Waste Management explored collecting the gas at the Black Hawk County Landfill. Yet, some engineers and developers did not surmise there was insufficient gas production to make a project viable. In 2019, the Commission desired to execute a project to achieve future regulatory compliance, support its members' climate action plans by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, generate revenue for the Commission and expand economic growth in the area.
The Commission and Pine Creek RNG executed the Landfill Gas Rights and Lease Agreement by February 2022. The terms of this agreement are that Pine Creek RNG provided the investment capital to install the gas collection system and bio-gas processing facility, maintain both systems and return royalties to the Commission. In short, the Commission's financial investment was virtually nothing. Zoning, design, permitting, and construction progressed from March 2022 to the first day of operation in March 2024. With this project, the Commission is the beneficiary of an active landfill gas collection system, which, while not currently required, would have been needed in about five years, according to projections. This action saves the Commission millions of dollars in future construction and maintenance expenses. In addition, property purchased as a buffer to the landfill, which was unusable as a landfill due to a natural gas pipeline on site, displayed value to this project.
The Black Hawk County Landfill will be closed on Thursday, November 28th for Thanksgiving, Wednesday, December 25th for Christmas, and Wednesday, January 1 for New Years day. Early closures at 12:30 will be on Tuesday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 30th.
Commission Administrator
Waste Trac Education Program
Iowa Waste Exchange
