Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Nancy Miller, (507)280-3590 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has reissued a permit that allows Blue Earth County to continue the operation and development of its Ponderosa Sanitary Landfill in South Bend Township, approximately four miles southwest of Mankato. The reissued permit is valid for five years, and includes a modification to the facility's municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal area. The site currently includes one closed, unlined, 27-acre disposal area and one active, lined, 13.4-acre area. The reissued permit increases the size of the active lined area by 6.2 acres, bringing its size to 19.6 acres. This increase does not alter the landfill's capacity, but it does change the way future development phases will be completed at the site. On Oct. 3, 1972, the Ponderosa Sanitary Landfill received its original MPCA permit to operate the 27-acre unlined solid-waste disposal area. The original unlined area was closed in 1994. The total capacity of the facility, including the lined and unlined areas, remains at 2,927,646 cubic yards. Based on current disposal rates, the facility has an estimated 14 more years of operating life. Under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets environmental standards to be met by MSW landfills. The MPCA has the authority to issue permits and specify limits, perform compliance monitoring and enforce federal standards. For more information about the landfill program, visit the MPCA Web site at /cleanup/landfills.html.