Planning for the Future

The North Ravine Cell Landfill

The Board of Ada County Commissioners decided in 2004 that landfill expansion should occur on land already owned by Ada County - land acquired by previous administrations for landfill purposes. Since the Commissioners' decision, much work has been done toward adding capacity to the existing landfill.

The Count'y's consulting engineers began the arduous process for developing new landfill capacity. The site chosen by the Commissioners is north of the existing landfill and is called the "North Ravine Cell."

Before any construction began on the North Ravine Cell, the chosen location had to pass criteria specified in federal and state regulations. The process of "site certification" involved a thorough investigation of the proposed location including such items as subsurface conditions, depth to groundwater, active faults, distance to airports, lakes and rivers, and local land use. On June 28, 2005, the Director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality certified the proposed site as in compliance with Idaho Code Section 39-7407 - Site Certification.

On October 13, 2005, the County received approval of a conditional use permit for construction of the North Ravine Cell. In February 2006, the Commissioners entered into an agreement with a local construction firm for the construction of Phase 1 of the North Ravine Cell.

Western Construction, Inc., a Boise-based construction firm, began work on the North Ravine Cell in March 2006.

Construction is nearly complete. Ada County, with its consulting engineers, CH2MHILL, is in the process of writing the operations plan for the North Ravine Cell. The operations plan requires approval from the Central District Health Department and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Once approval of the plan has been granted, Ada County will begin using the North Ravine Cell in the spring of 2007.

The total capacity of the North Ravine Cell will be constructed in phases. Over the next 60 years, new phases will be added about one every other year. The ultimate capacity of the North Ravine Cell should provide solid waste disposal for the citizens, businesses and institutions of Ada County for roughly 100 years.

The North Ravine Cell is truly a long-term response to the County's solid waste disposal needs. Coupled with community-wide waste diversion efforts, such as curbside recycling, recycling at the landfill, and waste reduction efforts, the North Ravine Cell will meet the demands for an environmentally safe, economically sound solid waste disposal system.