BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WKRG) – It’s been dormant since 1996, but that could change next year.

“It’s really just to offer more services to the north end of the county and it will expand our footprint a little bit,” said Baldwin County Solid Waste Director Terri Graham.

Graham and the county commission are preparing to reopen Red Hill Landfill in Bay Minette to help with the growth and rapid development north of Interstate 10.

“We’re just trying to go ahead and make sure that we’re ready. I mean Novelis is coming in, but they’re not going to be the only business that comes. It’s going to be more than that, so having to haul that material long distances it creates problems for the construction industry,” she explained Thursday.

If approved, the landfill will be used for construction and demolition waste. That includes drywall, shingles, concrete and wood products. Those are all materials that as of now are hauled to Magnolia Landfill in Summerdale. Graham says for those worried about environmental impacts the site is still tested often.

“There’s no issues with that site. We’ve got groundwater monitoring wells up there, we have perimeter wells that measure any gas that might be coming off of that site and we have no issues there,” said Graham.

A public hearing will be held in July and if approved later this year Red Hill Landfill could reopen by next summer.