Last year, Bergen and Hudson counties hired the Florida-based National Golf Foundation to conduct a feasibility study of constructing a course on the remediated landfill. The Meadowlands Commission would cap the landfill and the county would then build a course. The study said building the golf course would cost between $30 and $40 million.

County spokesman Brian Hague did not rule out the construction of a golf course on the land in the future, but the report concluded it would be an expensive proposition. "We really needed to know what we were getting into before taking any action," said Hague. "Cost is a factor in any project."

Demand for a public golf course in Bergen County remains high. "We could build another 10 courses in Bergen and still not meet the demand," said Hague.

In its first two year of operation, the landfill will lose $351,000, according to the report. By the fifth year, the golf course will have $848,000 per year in profits. Based on the National Golf Foundation’s projections, the golf course "will not be able to generate sufficient revenue to cover the debt service involved in the closing of the 1-E site and the development of the golf course and supporting amenities."

Plans to build a public golf course on the site through a partnership between the state and the counties came about after EnCap Golf Holdings opted not to move forward with plans to build additional golf courses on the 1-E and Erie landfills in North Arlington.

EnCap, currently under fire from the state over mismanagement of its landfill redevelopment project in the Meadowlands, still has plans to build two 18-hole public golf courses in Lyndhurst and Rutherford. The report did not anticipate significant competition from the EnCap courses, as they would be positioned as very high-end daily fee or resort courses.

The landfill has undergone closure improvements in preparation for its closing and capping. These include installation of systems to collect leachate and methane, the liquid and gaseous byproducts of capped garbage, according to New Jersey Meadowlands Commission spokesman Brian Aberback. The commission has already begun closing the landfill and operations are scheduled to end completely in early 2009.

If the golf course plan never comes to fruition, the NJMC has other options for the site. The NJMC may turn the property into a park, a solar farm or even build its own golf course on the site, said Aberback.

The remediated landfill would house an 18-hole course, driving range and clubhouse complete with a pro-shop, bar and grille, offices and storage. Residents of Bergen and Hudson counties would pay $30 per round and other New Jersey residents would pay $55 per round. Out-of-state residents would pay $80 per round.

The report also mentioned the possibility of unexpected settling of parts of the course due to decomposing waste beneath it. Also, the smell of methane gas could come from the remediated land.