JACKSON - The Southeast Missouri manager of Allied Waste Management Inc. at Dexter said Wednesday that plans for a solid-waste transfer station at Jackson are still under development.

The manager, Joe Duncan, said: "We're considering several options in the final design of the transfer station. We want to make sure that we come up with a transfer station that will work well for Jackson. The city will get its transfer station, but at this point I can't give you an exact date."

Duncan said Allied already has a temporary solid-waste transfer station in operation at the former Jackson landfill. The station was opened in April after the firm signed a long-term lease with the city for the landfill site.

However, the temporary transfer station is not designed to handle loads larger than 10-12 tons, such as the city's solid-waste trucks handle. Duncan said, "The temporary transfer station is open to the general public and contractors or others who have debris or other waste materials."

Duncan said Allied Waste Management has spent over $400,000 on the Jackson landfill and transfer station project in the past four months, including several hundred thousand dollars on engineering studies for the closure and post-closure of the Jackson sanitary landfill, development of the temporary transfer station, and engineering and planning for the permanent solid-waste transfer station.

"We're also keeping the mayor and the board of aldermen updated on our planning for the transfer station, so you can see it hasn't fallen through a crack. We're pedaling just as fast as we can."

Duncan said all of the engineering design and planning must be completed before an application for the transfer station is submitted to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. He said, "At the same time, we're also working on plans for the closing and capping of the landfill. Our deadline is Nov. 5."