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The newest plans call for the piling of waste atop the current Frey Farm Landfill on Turkey Hill, 58 feet higher than originally permitted.
By encircling the current 96-acre landfill with 60-foot-high terraced plastic-and-earthen walls, a vertical expansion would add another 10.5 million cubic yards of waste to the landfill.
That would extend its life by another 24 years. Current plans call for it to be closed in 2019.
The project would cost an estimated $41.6 million and would bring Turkey Hill's elevation to 840 feet. The Manor Township landfill is already one of the highest points along the lower Susquehanna River.
Garbage and most waste generated in Lancaster County goes to the waste-to-energy incinerator in Conoy Township. The leftover ash, material that can't be burned and construction and demolition debris is buried in the lined Frey Farm Landfill.
The Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority had planned to build a new landfill on farmland purchased from the Barley family in 2000.
But that controversial plan, the target of a lawsuit by a citizens' group, led the authority to change plans and instead adopt a "piggyback" plan in which waste would be piled on top of the old Creswell Landfill, which is owned by the authority.
Soil from 164 acres of land purchased from the Barleys would have been used for the Creswell Landfill project. That soil would now be used for the new project.
Since 2005, consultants had been preparing for the $131-million Creswell re-use project that would have added enough landfill space to last the county for another 55 years.
Consultants now say it is feasible, as well as cheaper and easier to build, to pile waste on the active Frey Farm Landfill.
"This is just too attractive to pass up," James Warner, the authority's executive director, said Tuesday.
At Warner's recommendation, the authority board on Friday directed its staff to pursue the Frey Farm expansion.
Warner said the authority actually had explored a similar expansion at the Frey Farm in 2001. However, at that time, the state did not allow the use of retaining walls known as mechanically stabilized earthen walls.
Also, there were problems with the property boundaries of the landfill. Those were recently erased when the authority purchased 51 acres of land from Frey Dairy Farm.
Three landfills in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the Lanchester Landfill in Lancaster and Chester counties, have used the mechanically stabilized earthen walls to expand upward.
Warner said he believes the Frey Farm vertical expansion, if approved by the state, would be the first to completely encircle an existing landfill.
The walls, built with soil reinforced by plastic, are eventually covered with vegetation planted along the terraces. The walls would add an additional 16 acres to the footprint of the current landfill.
Advantages of the new plan, in addition to lower construction costs, include an easier process to gain the necessary permits and a reduction in the amount of soil needed, Warner said. Soil can be costly and is a big-ticket item in building and maintaining landfills.
Also, the Creswell re-use project would have involved filling in a wetlands area and building a new one elsewhere. In addition, the authority has agreements with Manor Township and the People Against Landfill Expansion (PALE) citizens' group to try to use as much existing landfill space as possible.
The new landfill expansion plans were presented to Manor Township residents last week.
Asked about the revised landfill plans, Supervisor John May said, "I saw no resistance from anybody about it. It makes sense to me."
Said Mary Glazier, a PALE member, "This is in the spirit of what they had agreed to do under the consent decree."
As for the Creswell re-use plan, Warner said it will be shelved for another 43 years or so.
