Groveland Twp.- Two township officials are spearheading a long-term ban on sanitary landfills, within approximately 700 acres of prime real estate crossing both Groveland and Holly townships.
A proposal to restrict and prevent the development of a solid waste landfill for at least the next 15 years has been offered by both Groveland and Holly townships to five landowners in an area between Dixie Highway and I -75, with a northern boarder of Holdridge Road and Buckell Lake Road to the south. The area has been eyed as prime area for a landfill say township officials.
In return to signing the agreement, the property owners will receive tax benefits and assistance of the Oakland County planning and development agencies in marketing the parcels for future use.
Robert DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor and Dale Smith, Holly Township supervisor met with property owners, from Gibraltar National, Star-Batt, Mount Holly, William Leoni and Kurtz Gravel Company on March 21 to discuss the proposal.
‘We’ve been fighting to not have a landfill in the area for 30 years,? said DePalma. We are looking at an area for a technology park, some commercial and some residential areas. The offer is only going to be good until the end of April. After that it’s off the table and then we have some other ideas.?
DePalma would not specify the other plans for the property if owners dump the proposal, however, he did say the battle to keep a township landfill out of the area would continue.
Sue Ann Douglas, 12th District Oakland County Commissioner (R-Rochester) who represents the Oakland County Commissioners on the Oakland County Solid Waste Planning Commission says currently no plans for solid waste landfill in the county are in the works.
‘Right now we’re waiting for lawmakers and some new guidelines for landfills,? said Douglas. We’re going out of the county and out of state with trash right now. We just don’t have much area that’s appropriate for landfill space. Unless some surprises crop up–I just don’t see that occurring.?
Since the 1980s, rumors and proposals for a Groveland-Holly township landfill have met resistance from area officials:
According to a Holly area newspaper, in December 1980, Stablex Corporation, an England based corporation, drew the ire of township residents when they proposed a waste disposal plant in the township at a meeting at the Holly Hotel. The target area for the chemical plant dedicated to neutralizing toxic industrial waste into inert matter was the junction of Grange Hall Road and I-75.
The project was later dashed but cost the township about $400,000 in legal fees, said DePalma.
The landfill issue returned in July 2004 when several individuals expressed interest in a section of property near the Groveland-Holly township border for a solid waste landfill.
Concerns intensified following a meeting with 1st District Oakland County Commissioner Bill Patterson (R-Oxford) along with John Spokaeski, retired Eagle Valley Landfill manager. Patterson agreed that Spokaeski did express an interest in a landfill but, was unaware of a plan to establish such a site.
The township landfill issues were rekindled in September 2005 when William Leoni, a landowner in the Holly/ Groveland township area and president of Holly Disposal requested a landfill on his property.
In a letter obtained by The Citizen, Holly Disposal questioned the Oakland County’s current solid waste management plan and sited a Department of Natural Resources procedural mistake as reason to permit the landfill.
In November 2005 the Department of Environmental Quality denied the request siting the necessary compliance requirement of the current County Solid Waste Management Plan.

Groveland Twp.- Two township officials are spearheading a long-term ban on sanitary landfills, within approximately 700 acres of prime real estate crossing both Groveland and Holly townships.
A proposal to restrict and prevent the development of a solid waste landfill for at least the next 15 years has been offered by both Groveland and Holly townships to five landowners in an area between Dixie Highway and I -75, with a northern boarder of Holdridge Road and Buckell Lake Road to the south. The area has been eyed as prime area for a landfill say township officials.
In return to signing the agreement, the property owners will receive tax benefits and assistance of the Oakland County planning and development agencies in marketing the parcels for future use.
Robert DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor and Dale Smith, Holly Township supervisor met with property owners, from Gibraltar National, Star-Batt, Mount Holly, William Leoni and Kurtz Gravel Company on March 21 to discuss the proposal.
‘We’ve been fighting to not have a landfill in the area for 30 years,? said DePalma. We are looking at an area for a technology park, some commercial and some residential areas. The offer is only going to be good until the end of April. After that it’s off the table and then we have some other ideas.?
DePalma would not specify the other plans for the property if owners dump the proposal, however, he did say the battle to keep a township landfill out of the area would continue.
Sue Ann Douglas, 12th District Oakland County Commissioner (R-Rochester) who represents the Oakland County Commissioners on the Oakland County Solid Waste Planning Commission says currently no plans for solid waste landfill in the county are in the works.
‘Right now we’re waiting for lawmakers and some new guidelines for landfills,? said Douglas. We’re going out of the county and out of state with trash right now. We just don’t have much area that’s appropriate for landfill space. Unless some surprises crop up–I just don’t see that occurring.?
Since the 1980s, rumors and proposals for a Groveland-Holly township landfill have met resistance from area officials:
According to a Holly area newspaper, in December 1980, Stablex Corporation, an England based corporation, drew the ire of township residents when they proposed a waste disposal plant in the township at a meeting at the Holly Hotel. The target area for the chemical plant dedicated to neutralizing toxic industrial waste into inert matter was the junction of Grange Hall Road and I-75.
The project was later dashed but cost the township about $400,000 in legal fees, said DePalma.
The landfill issue returned in July 2004 when several individuals expressed interest in a section of property near the Groveland-Holly township border for a solid waste landfill.
Concerns intensified following a meeting with 1st District Oakland County Commissioner Bill Patterson (R-Oxford) along with John Spokaeski, retired Eagle Valley Landfill manager. Patterson agreed that Spokaeski did express an interest in a landfill but, was unaware of a plan to establish such a site.
The township landfill issues were rekindled in September 2005 when William Leoni, a landowner in the Holly/ Groveland township area and president of Holly Disposal requested a landfill on his property.
In a letter obtained by The Citizen, Holly Disposal questioned the Oakland County’s current solid waste management plan and sited a Department of Natural Resources procedural mistake as reason to permit the landfill.
In November 2005 the Department of Environmental Quality denied the request siting the necessary compliance requirement of the current County Solid Waste Management Plan.