Rio Rancho Landfill Nearing Capacity, Los Lunas Quarry Eyed as Replacement

The New Mexico Environment Department visited Rio Rancho Landfill as the facility pushes toward the end of its operational life, with closure planning underway and officials separately reviewing a Los Lunas quarry as a potential replacement disposal site for the region.

The Waste Management Rio Rancho Landfill at 33rd Street and Northern Boulevard has processed roughly 175,000 tons of waste annually since opening in 1985. Its permitted footprint covers 83 acres within a 101-acre facility, and facility records list remaining permitted capacity at 1,677,987 cubic yards with a projected life of eight years. NMED's visit came as the facility moves forward with a planned Closure Turf cover, according to the original report. Waste Management community relations contact Steve Miceli can be reached at 505-974-1947.

Rio Rancho also hosts a separate public facility: the Sandoval County Landfill at 2708 Iris Road NE, operated by Sandoval County under Air Quality New Source Review Permit No. 4111-M2. That facility is structured across four units. Unit I, described in permit documents as the "old landfill" and perimeter zones, is slated for closure under a currently approved plan. Unit III, encompassing lined cells 4 through 7, remains the active disposal area. Unit IV, covering approximately 31 acres of lined cells, is not expected to begin operations until after the five-year term of the facility's current Title V operating permit expires.

Against this backdrop, unnamed officials reviewed plans to convert Los Lunas Quarry into a new landfill to address the area's mounting waste management needs. No permit application number, ownership details, or timeline for that proposal were available at the time of this report.

The Waste Management facility holds four active permits: Title V Operating Permit No. P208LR1M1, Solid Waste Permit No. SWM-231402, Special Waste Permit No. SWM-12339(SP), and Stormwater Permit No. NMR05B060. The site accepts municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, petroleum-contaminated soil, waste tires, yard waste, and exploration and production wastes, among other materials. Petroleum-contaminated soil that meets NMED Special Waste criteria must be bioremediated before it can be landfilled on site.

NMED can be contacted at its Santa Fe headquarters at 525 Camino de los Marquez, Suite 1, or by phone at 505-476-4300. Key outstanding questions include which specific facility NMED inspected, the official date of that visit, the identity of the officials who reviewed the Los Lunas Quarry proposal, and whether any permit application for that site has been formally submitted.