Truck-to-Truck?

 

Based on the provided sources, comparing the East Fork Industrial Park to the current site options proposed for the transfer station reveals stark differences in regulatory compliance, public health risks, and logistical limitations:

Current Proposed Sites (Dunmore Landfill & Green Bank Meck Property) The current proposals center around building the transfer station either at the existing Dunmore landfill or on Jacob Meck's property in Green Bank. Both of these sites face severe legal and public health hazards due to strict state setbacks:

• Dunmore Landfill Site: The "Option 4" agreement proposes placing the transfer station at the current landfill site. However, this location presents a significant "compliance gap" because the facility would likely fall within the 2,000-foot prohibited zone of Pocahontas County High School.
• Green Bank Meck Property: This site is located at 4645 Potomac Highlands Trail, a mere 776 feet from the Community Care medical clinic, Green Bank Dental, and the Green Bank Senior Citizens Center. This blatant violation of the 2,000-foot institutional setback would require a highly scrutinized discretionary waiver from the WVDEP Secretary, which is difficult to obtain due to the high nuisance risk.

The East Fork Industrial Park Alternative (Frank, WV) Relocating the transfer station to the East Fork Industrial Park is presented as a legally sound and practical alternative.

• Benefits: The East Fork site has a proven history of being used for timber processing and industrial activity. Most importantly, it is located several miles away from the nearest school (in Green Bank), meaning it successfully avoids the 2,000-foot institutional exclusionary zone mandated by West Virginia's solid waste and composting rules (33CSR3 Section 3.2.a.5).
• Limitations and Requirements: While it avoids institutional setbacks, the East Fork site still has environmental hurdles to clear. The site would need to undergo comprehensive topographical and hydrological surveys to guarantee it maintains a strict 300-foot regulatory buffer from the East Fork of the Greenbrier River and a 500-foot setback from any adjacent residential dwellings.

In summary, while the current options in Dunmore and Green Bank are mired in institutional setback violations near vulnerable populations, the East Fork Industrial Park offers an established industrial footprint that safely clears the 2,000-foot institutional hurdle, provided it can satisfy standard river and residential buffers.

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While the East Fork Industrial Park safely avoids the 2,000-foot institutional exclusionary zones that disqualify other proposed sites, it still faces specific environmental and regulatory hurdles to ensure full compliance with West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) rules.

To utilize this location for the new transfer station, developers must conduct rigorous topographical and hydrological surveys to guarantee the following setbacks:

• A strict 300-foot hydrological buffer must be maintained from the East Fork of the Greenbrier River to prevent potential surface water or groundwater contamination.
• A 500-foot residential setback must be established and maintained from any adjacent occupied residential dwellings.

Additionally, state solid waste management regulations (such as those under 33CSR1 and 33CSR3) mandate that facilities be placed on relatively flat terrain. Specifically, they prohibit the construction of facilities on land where the topography exceeds a 6 percent grade, meaning surveyors would also need to ensure the chosen plot within the industrial park is flat enough to safely manage runoff and heavy industrial operations.

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According to the sources, a "truck-to-truck" transfer station provides several key benefits over traditional models, particularly in areas like Pocahontas County:

• Cleaner Operations and Reduced Odor: The truck-to-truck model avoids the "tipping-floor" style, where garbage is typically piled on a concrete floor and left to ferment before being moved. By dumping waste directly from smaller collection trucks into large, sealed tractor-trailers, the trash's exposure to open air is minimized, which significantly reduces the facility's odor footprint.
• Lower Start-Up Costs: Constructing this type of station is notably cheaper than a tipping-floor facility, with equipment start-up costs estimated at approximately $575,000.
• Reduced Need for Heavy Machinery: Because the waste is transferred directly between trucks, the facility does not require expensive heavy equipment like loaders or excavators. Instead, it uses an electric garbage crane to sort oversized items and move them into the trailers.
• Faster and Tailored Efficiency: The direct transfer of waste is a faster process overall. It was specifically selected by developers because it is more efficient for handling the lower volume of trash typically generated in rural areas like Pocahontas County before exporting it to out-of-county landfills.

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The proposed "truck-to-truck" transfer station requires a specific inventory of machinery to efficiently consolidate and load waste for long-distance transport without relying on a traditional tipping floor. Based on the sources, the necessary equipment includes:

• An electric garbage crane: Specifically, a Grizzly brand model 215 SW (or equivalent) trash crane. This crane is essential for lifting waste and sorting out oversized items directly into the trailers.
• A skid steer: Specifically, a Bobcat S570 skid steer loader.
• Walking-floor trailers: Three reinforced "walking-floor" trailers. The Solid Waste Authority purchased these specialized trailers at a cost of $109,383 each (totaling $328,149) because they are designed to unload waste without having to tip the trailer upward, making them ideal for the restricted spaces of regional transfer hubs.
• Tractor trucks: To pull the heavy transfer trailers to out-of-county landfills, the operation requires one or two long-haul tractor trucks. These trucks are estimated to cost approximately $500,000 each, though the county has debated whether to purchase them directly or contract this hauling work out to a private company to avoid the massive capital outlay.

In total, the initial equipment start-up costs for the truck-to-truck station are estimated at approximately $575,000. When combined with the facility's construction, the total cost to build and equip the station is estimated at slightly under $1 million.