About 50 residents and almost 15 City staff members gathered in mid-December at the East Mesa Public Safety Complex to discuss trash. Specifically, removing old trash from City-owned property alongside Lohman Ave. and across from Mountain View Regional Medical Center. The old trash is in a pre-1965 dumpsite. It is an unlined 114-acre site that was used from 1959 to 1966, when Las Cruces had a population hovering around 30,000. (Population.us)
Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) Deputy Director of Environmental and Technical Support, Carl Clark, led the conversation about the start of the removal of waste in early 2020.
There are four separate waste areas, called “cells,” in which an LCU-conducted environmental study detailed the cells’ depth and what type of trash may lurk beneath the ground surface.
Residents’ questions were straightforward: What was in the landfill? Clark explained that deeply bored cylindrical samples showed most of the waste was construction debris. “From what we can tell, there are plenty of roofing and ceiling tiles,” said Clark.
If asbestos was used at the time, could it have become “friable”, meaning easy to crumble or disperse in the nearby area? “Unlikely, based on the samples we’ve see,” said Clark. “However,” he added, “should any questionable material be discovered by LCU staff, or its Environmental Consultant Parkhill, Smith & Cooper, Inc., as part of the waste removal team, we will have a highly trained asbestos mitigation company on contract for management of asbestos.”
Would the main access road to the nearby neighborhood, Paseo de Oñate, be a route into the site? “No,” explained Clark. Trucks - likely 20 to 30 loads per day during regular business hours - would use Sonoma Ranch Boulevard for access, then travel University Ave. toward I-10 and go out to Corralitos Regional Landfill 15 miles west of town for re-disposal of the old trash.
Since the waste cells will be excavated, any accumulated water that might exist would be captured within the cell and monitored for pests like mosquitos. Silt fencing will also help erosion control outside of the cells.
But, what about the final shape of the existing hills? With that question, the presentation was moved on to Larry Nichols, City of Las Cruces (CLC) Community Development Director. CLC Staff at the December 10th meeting included Community Development, Public Works, Economic Development, and CLC partner, South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA).
Nichols explained that the roughly 114 acres would go through a master plan project in line with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. A consulting firm would survey the area, and with the input of residents through multiple public outreach sessions along with time for comments from the public. “The master plan will respect the terrain of the site but will explore options of mixed-use development alongside trails and parks,” said Nichols.
The following Thursday, December 12th, the LCU Board of Commissioners approved three contracts for the CLC Lohman Property (Pre-1965 Foothills Landfill) waste excavation project to include the engineering support, equipment rental, and the asbestos mitigation. Lastly, the master plan would go through the Planning and Zoning Commission and then on to City Council.
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.