Secondary Aluminum Smelters Seek to Build Landfill

Tennessee Aluminum Processors and Smelter Services Corp., two secondary aluminum smelters with locations in Mount Pleasant, Tenn., are seeking to build a landfill to handle the salt cakes generated at the plants.

To accomplish this, the companies are set to go before the Mt. Pleasant’s Planning Commission on Jan. 5 and seek approval to have a 95-acre site in the city rezoned from agricultural to a special impact zone M-3.

Clark Spoden, an attorney representing the aluminum firms, says that the 95-acre site was a former mining site.
According to local press reports, two years ago the two companies had proposed a site that was roughly twice as large as the acreage the companies are presently seeking. That proposal was voted down by commissioners.
After the Planning Commission hearing, the proposal will go before the City Commission for a final decision.

The Columbia Daily Herald reports that design plans include 19 acres used for disposal; with an additional 19 acres allocated for future disposal. There would also be two 50,000-gallon tanks used for a collection area. Any aluminum by-product would be separated from the groundwater by a 12-inch thick leachate collection system, a 7-foot clay buffer, two high density polyethylene liners and a clay liner.

The Environmental Protection Agency does not consider salt cake to be hazardous waste.