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Company plans to capture methane gas at Melissa landfill

The Melissa City Council approved a motion authorizing the city manager to finalize negotiations with Morrow Renewables at the Jan. 24 city council meeting.

Morrow Renewables was awarded a contract by the North Texas Water District, the owners of the 121 Regional Disposal Facility, to capture methane gas at the landfill.

President of the company Luke Morrow said the company is tasked with collecting gas at the landfill and converting it to renewable energy, then shipping the gas to a major pipeline.

To do this Morrow Renewables has asked the city for use of their easements to get the gas to the nearest Atmos Energy pipeline.

“The city has been very kind to work with us and get that right-of-way,” Morrow said. “So, we are looking at going in one of their utility corridors and paying them for that land.”

A facility will be built near the landfill, and Morrow explained wells will be drilled on the landfill to capture more gas.

“We’ll take the landfill gas, we’ll separate out some of the things that smell bad, incinerate them and take the methane down a pipeline,” he said.

Morrow said the process should cut down on odor at the landfill from gas but the smell from sludge will not be effected.

“One of the things we can’t do is when they bring in sewer sludge, that is an odor that comes from the dumping of that, so there is really no way to collect gas on that,” he said. “What we will do is cut down on the gas. Any excess gas that we can get our hands on in the system.”

 The council also approved an ordinance amended the way holiday and sick leave is accrued by the Melissa Police Department.

The department switched over to 12 hour patrol shifts several months ago, Gail Dansby the city’s finance director said.

Previously patrol officers worked eight hour shifts, but the change has given officers more time off. Patrol officers will work two days on then get two days off and then work another two days on. This results in officers getting a three-day weekend every other week.

They accrue holiday and sick days now by the hour instead of by the day. Patrol officers will get 80 holiday hours a year instead of 10 holiday days.

Several development-related motions were passed at the meeting. The council approved a request by ABC Bradco for the replat of an additional lot. The lot will expand the current facility.

The final plat was approved for 119 residential lots in the Liberty subdivision and for the Gala at Melissa, a senior living resort.