CWD deer to go into county landfill

Bill Novak
September 18, 2007

Deer carcasses tainted with chronic wasting disease could end up in the Dane County landfill this fall, but research shows there is virtually no chance of the disease getting into groundwater or the municipal sewer system.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants to dump the carcasses in the Rodefeld landfill on Madison's far east side to save money, since the cost of burying is much lower than either incinerating the carcasses or liquifying the carcasses in an alkaline digester, the two methods used over the past four years by DNR to get rid of CWD deer.

During the early days of the CWD scare in 2002, residents were alarmed that deer buried in the landfill could have the prions, or CWD-laden proteins, come out of the decaying carcasses and into the leachate system that ends up in the Madison metropolitan sewer system.

Extensive testing by University of Wisconsin researchers this year showed virtually no movement of prions through various soils and landfill materials when water was poured through the material.

DNR waste and materials manager Gene Mitchell feels the burial plan has solid research behind it.

"The studies showed the prions moved less than three millimeters in the material," Mitchell said. "It's pretty convincing that they don't move."

Infectious waste is not allowed in the county landfill under current ordinance. The change being considered by the Dane County Board is to allow for the disposal of deer carcasses infected with CWD in the landfill, with the DNR paying for the burial and also agreeing to indemnify Dane County against any liability arising from the disposal of the carcasses.

Dane County solid waste manager Mike DiMaggio said the deer carcasses would be kept separate from the other trash in the landfill, buried in a trench located at least 80 feet above the leachate collection system at the landfill to collect leachate for pumping to the sewer system.

"I feel comfortable about doing this," DiMaggio said. "The prions don't go anywhere."

The trench would be lined with two feet of soil. Carcasses would be dumped in, covered with landfill material then topped with two more feet of soil, clearly marked so landfill workers don't cut through the trench when a new methane gas well needs to be installed into the landfill material.

(The county collects methane at the landfill and sells it to the power companies.)

Mitchell said the DNR is looking for ways to cut costs in the CWD management program, since its budget was cut by more than $1 million and federal funding was cut by $656,000. Together, the cuts amounted to 60 percent of the DNR's $2.7 million CWD operations budget.

Burying carcasses will drastically reduce the cost of disposal.

Burial will cost $50 a ton, while Incineration is $1,200 a ton and the alkaline digester used at the UW veterinary diagnostic lab in Madison costs $600 a ton.

About 500 tons of CWD-infected deer are expected to be collected by the DNR this upcoming deer hunting season, mainly from the disease eradication zone centered in western Dane County and eastern Iowa County.

DiMaggio said the amount of deer that would be buried is miniscule compared to the amount of garbage brought to the landfill.

"500 tons is a half-day's garbage for us," DiMaggio said.

The County Board will have several committees look at the plan and could have it approved this fall, which would be a big help to the DNR, Mitchell said.

"If we don't need to spend money on more expensive methods of disposal, we can make better use of our budget," he said.

The DNR was spending about $500,000 a year to dispose of the carcasses. If the landfill is used, the county will get about $25,000.