County to Hear Appeal on Chesapeake Landfill

Efforts to construct a rubble landfill at the south end of Odenton will be up for review by a county board once again, after neighbors appealed a decision that gave more time for the operators to build. 

The Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals on Thursday will hear the case involving the Chesapeake Terrace Landfill, which has been the subject of intense debate for more than 20 years. 

In February, the county Administrative Hearing Officer granted a variance giving the operators at least two more years to begin construction. That decision was appealed by the Forks of the Patuxent Improvement Association, a group made up of nearby homeowners, on March 20. 

The board of appeals is expected to hold two hearings on the issue. The first will be on June 6 at 5:30 p.m., with another scheduled for June 13 at 5:30 p.m. Both will be held in the council chambers in Annapolis.

Board clerk Deana Gibbs said she scheduled two meetings because she expected the case would require the extra time. 

The Chesapeake Terrace Landfill would be operated by a subsidiary of the Halle Cos., which first proposed the project in the early 1990s. Operators initially received a special exception from the county allowing the construction of a rubble landfill and surface mining operation.

Since then, the operators have requested and received several time extensions as they have worked their way through approval processes with the Maryland Department of Environment. The landfill has approval on portions of the plan, but is awaiting approval on an engineering report from MDE. 

Opponents of the plan fought the original special exception, and have since opposed the time extensions.

See also:

• Battle Over Impact of Chesapeake Terrace Landfill Resumes