Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Landfill Karst Groundwater

The Project

A proposed inert private landfill was planned for a site near a City in a Central Kentucky .

The Site

A rolling karst plain with many mature sinkholes, and two large sinkholes on the site, and a substantial ground water system recharged by the sinkholes. Numerous large springs in the area discharge several thousand gallons per minute continuously. One such spring, located about 4 miles from the landfill site was a major source of drinking water for the City.

The Problem

The regulatory agency responsible for permitting landfills in the State issued permits for the landfill even though dye trace tests conducted by the regulatory agency resulted in the dye being detected at the City's municipal spring within hours.

The Cause

It was shown that the landfill design did not adequately address the karst conditions at the site and that the proposed landfill site was directly connected to the City water supply spring. The City protested the issuance of the permit because the landfill posed a public hazard.

The Resolution

Following administrative hearings, the landfill operator and the regulatory agency were ordered to cease site development activity. The permit was withdrawn until new designs which adequately address the mature karst conditions and the protection of the environment are submitted to the regulatory agency. The landfill was never developed.

The Attorney Client

For the City Government:

Collier, Arnett & Coleman
128 West Dixie Avenue
Elizabethtown , KY 42701
Mr. John R. Dorough
(502) 765-4112

 

 

For additional information concerning this case,
you may contact:

STOKLEY-CHEEKS AND ASSOCIATES, INC
P. O. Box 130
Nicholasville , Kentucky 40340-0130
Cheeks@RichardCheeks.com

 

 

Copyright 2004 Richard Cheeks