Gude Landfill Capping Update
Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection has met its first milestone in the Gude
Landfill capping project. In November, County officials met with the Maryland State Department of the
Environment and submitted its 30% complete design plan for the landfill’s remediation.
In general, the design plan envisions a cap being installed across the entirety of the landfill, following the
existing tree line and top of steep slopes around the north, east, and south sides of the landfill. Trees
will be removed along the northwest boundary (near our community) so the slope can be re-graded and
capped. The design phase will continue through spring 2020. Construction is anticipated to begin in April
2020 and will proceed in 6 phases through September, 2023. The project is planned to be fully
completed in February, 2024.
The design plan calls for significant relocation of waste and regrading of the slope along the
northwestern border of the landfill (along the border with Derwood Station). The work would involve
the removal of trees along the northwest boundary, regrading of the landfill’s northwest slope to create
a stepped or tiered border, relocation of the access road and development of a perimeter swale.
As part of the design, the County is planning on developing an ‘operational area’ to use approximately 8
acres of the landfill for its commercial yard waste operations. These operations would be located on the
eastern side of the landfill, and expand upon existing yard waste operations. The area would be
accessed by trucks via Incinerator Lane.
The construction, re-grading and capping of the landfill will involve exposing buried waste, relocating
and re-burying it, capping with synthetic barriers and soil, and making some changes to the existing
slope and contour of the landfill. The work will involve heavy equipment, and is likely to generate noise,
odors, and dust.
The County continues to express a willingness to re-use the landfill for the benefit of the Derwood
community, and employ passive elements such as bike/walking paths, dog park, or community garden.
The re-use plans have yet to be developed.
Page 2 of 3
Community Input Sought
The County has sought input from the Derwood Station community regarding its preference for staging
the construction work. While detailed options and schedules are being refined, a basic issue presented is
whether the community would prefer (1) a 12-18 month ‘full press’ to complete work along the
northwest boundary near the community (risking a need to conduct operations during the summer
months when odors may be more noticeable) or (2) conducting the work along the northwest boundary
over a 2-3 year period in multiple phases that restricted operations to the winter months (when odors
may be less noticeable).
If you have views on the approach to construction, please attend a monthly meeting between GLCC and
the County, or contact your Board HOA President. Other recent developments include:
A Traffic Impact Study has been concluded and is to be submitted December 20, 2018. Initial work on
an aerial survey has been completed. Utilities have been identified and located. Geotechnical
investigations have proceeded, including drilling of test borings to sample depth of soil and waste. A
review of the current landfill gas removal system was completed, revealing that all current well-heads
(used to pump methane from the landfill) will need to be replaced during construction. Through an
arrangement with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, soil from the Purple Line
project continues to be delivered and stockpiled at the Gude Landfill for the use during the future
landfill capping construction. The delivery of soil occurs primarily Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to
4:00 PM.
Background
The County is working to comply with a May 2013 consent order issued by the Maryland State
Department of the Environment that requires the County to remediate the migration of groundwater
contamination and temporary explosive gas exceedances from landfill gas at and beyond the Gude
Landfill property.
The Gude Landfill Concerned Citizens Committee (GLCC) is comprised of your neighbors. Each of the
three Derwood Station area HOA presidents is a member of the GLCC. GLCC has met with County and
State officials on a regular basis and seeks to ensure that there is timely and comprehensive
communication to the Derwood community.
Page 3 of 3
Interested community members are encouraged to attend regularly conducted meetings between GLCC
and the County. These are generally held on the third Thursday of each month at 7 P.M. at the County’s
Waste Transfer Station.
To obtain the schedule of planned meetings, attend public meetings, or have questions answered,
please contact: Don Birnesser, Montgomery County Dept. of Env. Protection (DEP), Division of Solid
Waste Services 16101 Frederick Rd. Derwood, MD 20855 e-mail:
Donald.Birnesser@montgomerycountymd.gov
Additional information about the Gude Landfill can be found at the County’s website at
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/sws/facilities/gude/ Feel free to contact GLCC Chairman, Keith
Ligon at keligon56@gmail.com or (301) 742-9634.