New landfill approved in Los Lunas

LOS LUNAS — The days of hauling refuse out of Valencia County could be coming to an end if the developers of the Central New Mexico Rail Park have their way.

That’s because the Los Lunas Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a conditional-use permit for the Central New Mexico Landfill, LLC at the regular P&Z meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The permit allows the proposed solid waste facility to move forward with plans for a solid waste landfill on the northwest corner of the rail park’s property off N.M. 6, at the far northwest corner of the village, west of Interstate 25.

Rock and Rails, LLC representative Emery Smith told the commission the facility is necessary for the region, stating that Valencia County currently sends all its trash 50 miles to Sandoval County.

“We need to get smarter and start planning for us,” Smith said, emphasizing the local economic benefits of keeping trash disposal fees within the county.

“I’d rather have that money from Sandoval than have those guys come here and just keep sending it there,” he said. “We want to make this better and easier for us in Valencia and Los Lunas.”

The proposed site is the quarry within the rail park area. Smith highlighted the location’s suitability, noting the existing 60-foot hole of solid rock with 600 feet of static water, which he described as an ideal foundation for a landfill. The long-term plan involves continuing the quarry’s operations, followed by filling the excavated area with trash for eventual reclamation.

Mike Mechenbier, the primary landowner and developer of the rail park, also spoke in favor of the permit, noting that Rock and Rail would not consider the site if it were unfavorable to the village or his business.

“No way we create something out there that would be an adverse condition to everything else that we own. We’re putting this garbage in our own backyard. It’s not an isolated site,” Mechenbier said. “The other thing, we’re the ones who developed the conform down there at the landfill near Belen, and there’s a transfer station down there, and that transfer station is closed every weekend. All the garbage that goes out there on the weekend ends up getting dumped at our gate.”

Mechenbier said Rock and Rails, in its state permit, proposes that the landfill be open seven days a week, which would offer an alternative to illegal dumping

“Any of the county residents, any of the village residents, they have a place to go after they load it up,” he said. “Everybody cleans up the yard on Saturday and Sunday, then they go, can’t find a place to dump it, and it ends up on the side of the road. So I see that being a big asset.”

In terms of traffic, Smith said Rock and Rail expects an initial volume of about 300 tons of waste, potentially rising to 400–500 tons once the village of Los Lunas begins utilizing the site, delivering an estimated 30 loads per day. Mechenbier and Smith both assured the commission that a traffic study had been completed and that any increased traffic would largely mirror the existing volume traveling to the nearby transfer station, simply extending the route by 2 miles.

Commissioners posed questions regarding compliance with the village’s municipal code requirements regarding adverse impact on property values and the initial lack of detail on site offices during the meeting.

Village planner Matt Ryan confirmed that the application complied with the village’s comprehensive plan.

Following deliberation, the commission voted to approve the conditional use permit with a unanimous “yes” vote from all attending commissioners.

Commission Chairman Andy Garcia confirmed the decision was final at the commission level and would not need to be forwarded to the council.

Community Development Director Alex Ochoa said last Thursday that Rock and Rail would now begin the permitting process with the state of New Mexico.

“They have to go through a lot of permitting to actually acquire the appropriate permit,” he said. “So it will probably be some time, maybe about a year out, before they actually receive the permit from the state and then submit their actual development plan applications (to the village) to start construction and those sorts of things.”

In other business:

• Commissioner Sandra Goldberg was unanimously elected as a commission chairwoman, and Commissioner Daniel Salas was unanimously approved as vice chairman.

(Editor’s note: This landfill is not the same landfill mentioned in the full-page legal advertisement on page 11 of today’s News-Bulletin, the Valencia Regional Landfill and Recycling Facility. That facility is an existing private landfill managed by Waste Management of New Mexico, Inc. and is not open to the public.)