Much interest has been generated by golf courses built on sanitary landfills and for good reason. First, almost all cities and towns have landfills that are now close to population centers, have no practical use except for a recreation or as selected wildlife sanctuaries, and are viewed as a community liability instead of as an asset. Often these sites are unattractive, tend to lower the value of nearby property, and produce no income once the landfills close. But sanitary landfills make good golf course sites because of their large size, the low value of the land, and a recognition that a golf course is a community asset. However, not every landfill site is well suited for golf course development, so each site must be evaluated for it's own individual potential. The first evaluation criteria should be that the landfill is of sufficient size (175 acres or more for an 18 hole course), is easily accessed by a sizable golf market within a 20-30 minute drive and has a sufficient supply of irrigation water and 3-phase power available. Then the nature and history of the filling process must be analyzed to determine what type of refuse went into the fill, whether any of it was toxic or hazardous, and how was the refuse layered and compacted on a daily basis. An engineering company experienced in landfills should be retained to do the analysis and evaluation of the site. A landfill operation would have alternating layers of refuse and sandy soil (S-5thick), that were thoroughly compacted after installation, and was capped by a dense clay mantel or cap that prevented upward migration of gases. Theoretically the liquid and gas by-products formed during decomposition of the refuse could be controlled by an engineered collection and venting procedure that renders them harmless. For a variety of reasons this ideal situation is seldom found and that is where the problems of constructing on landfills begins. Generally the three main problems with landfill developments are toxic gases, uneven settling or subsidence, and toxic liquid outflows. In moderate to extreme cases of any of these three problems, golf course development may not be economically feasible. The main toxic gas associated with landfill aging is methane which is lighter than air, is lethal to plants as well as combustible, and tends to migrate within the soil. This problem can be dealt with by a gas collection system built into the landfill which actually draws the methane to a central compression facility where it is either free burned, control burned for industrial benefit such as producing electric or hot water, or transferred to a process ing/p u rifying plant. Left unchecked, methane gases tend to indiscriminately kill turfgrass, smell bad, and can cause a flash fire if ignited by a careless spark, cigarette, or curiosity seeker. Again levels of methane can be measured and predicted by trained engineers. The second problem of uneven settling or subsidence is more difficult to predict than methane and harder to mitigate. There is one report of a golf green on a California landfill golf course that sank 27 feet in one year! At this facility the economics are such that management can afford to simply and routinely rebuild golf features as problems continue to arise. One method to lessen the problem of subsidence is called preloading or surcharging a site. The technique is to identify key areas of the landfill such as proposed tee or green locations, then overload this area with 2-3 times as much soil fill material as will be required on the site, and measure the compaction of the area by means of a settling plate and weekly elevation readings. From experience it was found that when the settling rate is less than one inch per week for 4 weeks, that the landfill has been fairly well compressed, and then the excess fill is removed and the landfill will rebound to a hopefully stable configuration. The last general problem of toxic liquid outflows is perhaps the most difficult to predict, costly to remedy, and presents the greatest source of liability to the landfill owner, the developer, and the general public. Naturally these outflows occur at the lower elevations of the landfill and must be picked up in a collection system and not permitted to flow off-site until they have been rendered harmless by dilution, decomposition, or chemical bonding. Once again an engineering company experienced in landfills is indispensable. Then assuming the site has received favorable marks on the engineering site audit and golf course market study, the would-be landfill golf course developer needs to investigate the design, construction, and operations limitations of the proposed site. Design limitations mean routing the golf course in a manner to allow for factors not normally found on potential golf course sites such as gas collection or venting systems, areas where excessive subsidence is expected, "hot" pocket of gases or liquid, engineered locations for cleansing ponds, and unstable soil conditions. Further, it is very difficult to get permits to make cuts or excavation on landfill because this breaks the cap, therefore only fill operations are permitted which severely impacts trying to avoid blind shots or steep walks on the golf course. Since no cutting can be done, all fill material must be hauled to the site or from a non-landfill area on the site which may increase earthmoving cost by 4-5 times that of a normal site. Consequently, if the golf course construction budget is limited then the golf course design must minimize earthmoving. Another design consideration is that the clubhouse and other structures cannot be built on the landfill proper because of the dangers of landfill gases to the structures and settling. Likewise, for sewage leachfields, utilities, sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways. Thus, the location of the clubhouse/proshop will dictate the general location of the starting and finishing golf holes which may be an extreme design limitation. The same goes for locations of cart paths, bridges, walls, water features, irrigation pumping stations, etc. Clearly there are many restrictions and limitations when designing golf courses on landfills. As eluded to earlier, constructing golf courses on landfills is more difficult and so more costly by at least 25% to as much as several hundred percent more. Reasons for this higher cost may be attributed to landfill unique construction techniques such as having to build haul roads over unstable fill areas, installing gas barriers under all tees and greens and key turf areas, raising fairways to allow for burying irrigation and drainage without breaking the cap, excessive erosion resulting from steep fill slopes where vegetation is difficult to establish, installing irrigation to allow for stretch in the pipe if subsidence occurs, and meeting all of the restrictions and inspections that occur when working on sensitive sites. Then there is the danger of methane fires or explosions, exposure to toxic by-products, or the hassle of rebuilding or repairing features damaged by the unstable nature of the site until the owner assumes responsibility. Operating a landfill golf course is not without it's problems either. Often the landform of the sanitary fill can not be modified sufficiently to produce golf holes that are forgiving to novice golfers as a normal site would be...in other words, landfill golf courses are often harder to play. Then there are the problems of obnoxious odors under certain weather conditions, potential for methane ignition, and golfer's allergic reaction to by-products of the landfill. Often the very nature of golf course maintenance practices exaggerates the potential problems of the landfill by irrigation water seeping into the refuse to accelerate decomposition and hence by-products, aerification which may weaken the cap and allow more methane escape, and normal but repeated compaction by maintenance vehicles may cause subsidence or pockets of poor surface water drainage. Maintenance vehicles may have to be modified to direct engine exhaust systems to discharge upward to reduce methane ignition, have high flotation tires installed more often than normal, and operators and workmen trained to recognize potential or hazardous situations. Clearly, design, constructing, and operating a golf course on a landfill is not without unusual and perhaps unsolvable problems. However, landfill sites are often close to very large and lucrative markets, have a very low land cost, and are sufficient size for profitable golf courses. The best landfills are the oldest (20 years or more is preferable), have the lowest fill height (20 feet is ideal and up to 35 feet is acceptable), and show evidence of strong plant populations growing on or around them. The best way to integrate landfills and golf courses are to design both at the same time and thus design in solutions to potential future problems. This joint planning activity would ensure that the bottom of the fill site is shaped and sealed to form collection pools for toxic liquids which then can be periodically removed and treated, or treat on site to render them harmless, that methane collection systems fit the golf course design and not the other way around, and that refuse placement matches proposed future golf course contours. To my knowledge no municipality has been creative or far-sighted enough to preplan a landfill golf course site. I am not suggesting this will eliminate all of the problems articulated above, but it would certainly minimize them. Another far-sighted approach that is being done by a commercial waste disposal company is to use a golf course as an "emerald necklace" around the landfill site as a public recreation/buffer zone for neighbors. This sensitivity to surrounding property owners, and recognition of the increase land value associated with being near a daily fee golf facility has lessened the opposition of the community to the landfill. This seems to be a win-win situation and the landfill is more readily accepted by it's neighbors, the golfing public is given access to a new facility, and the owner makes a profit on both the landfill and the golf course. The truly intelligent landfill company would not only plan one golf course on non-fill land, but would preplan a second golf course out of the same clubhouse which can be built on the landfill itself after it is closed and aged. This pre-planning would also give the advantages of designing the landfill to fit future The best advice on landfill golf courses is to:
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