The City of Pierre will ask the state for funds to expand Pierre’s Regional Landfill located east of Pierre.
The landfill, serving approximately 40,000 people including communities and rural areas in seven different counties, currently includes three landfill cells. The City is applying for South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) funds to construct a fourth landfill cell.
If the City’s application is approved, it will use the dollars from the state’s Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling Fund and Clean Water State Revolving Fund to assist with engineering and construction costs.
The City is scheduled to bid the project in 2025 with the intention of completing the project that same year.
“With the amount of tonnage we bring in every year, we estimate the new cell will provide disposal capacity for about 14 years,” said Val Keller, Solid Waste Superintendent. “After that, we have space for another 10 cells. We believe they’ll provide capacity for more than 140 years of disposal.”
Between the state funding programs, the City is requesting more than $1 million in financial assistance.
The first cell at the City’s current landfill was constructed in 2003; the most recent cell was completed in 2015.
As part of it’s Solid Waste Operations, the City operates a baling facility to provide uniform compaction of material, a recycling program to help limit solid waste disposal, as well as a rubble debris pit to dispose of construction materials.