DeKalb County, GA — DeKalb County is constructing a new 22-acre replacement cell at the Seminole Landfill and construction is expected to be finished by June 1.

In May 2022, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a request by the sanitation department for $21.2 million to build the replacement cell at Seminole Landfill. Construction began in November 2022. The location of the cell, or waste disposal area, is within the existing footprint of Seminole Landfill, which has been in operation since 1977, according to a press release.

Once the construction of the new cell is completed, the sanitation department will seek approval to open the new cell from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). EPD inspections, professional engineer certifications, and the construction quality assurance report for the new cell are expected to be submitted to EPD by June 1.

The sanitation department will discontinue operations at the current cell, which is located near the Rock Mill neighborhood. Once operations are discontinued, no additional solid waste will be placed there and the cell will be covered with dirt. Grass will be planted on top of it.

Residents in the Ellenwood neighborhood complained of foul odors coming from a landfill that’s near their homes. Siatta Ollison, a resident of the Rock Mill subdivision in South DeKalb County moved there more than 20 years ago, according to Atlanta News First.

Ollison said,when she moved to the subdivision it was new construction, and they were one of the first people to move over to this area. Now she is starting to question that decision, all because of this unsightly landfill that soars over houses.

“I think over the last year or two, definitely during the pandemic we’ve been starting to see it grow,” Ollison told ANF.

To mitigate odors, the cell is covered with compost at the end of each day. The current cell is located near the 200-foot buffer. The location of the new cell will be 300 feet from the buffer and is expected to decrease the odors that residents are experiencing, according to a press release.

Some of the gas odors residents have noticed were due to the installation and construction of a new gas collection and control system required by state law. That project contains 44 methane gas wells drilled to safely collect methane from the ground.

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