Health department officials say they are reviewing the qualifications of engineering firms interested in working on the county’s planned landfill expansion.

Kathi Hooper, department head, told county commissioners Jan. 12 that she had received documents from three potential partners on the project. One, Great West Engineering, had worked with the county in the past, she said. The firm also comes with experience working on landfills in other Montana communities.

All of the interested companies looked good on paper, Hooper said.

“There’s not a really bad choice; they’re all really qualified,” she said.

Hooper also outlined the department’s short-term timeline for landfill project, which comes with an estimated $5.79 million first phase price tag. She hopes to choose an engineering firm before January's end and have an application to the state Department of Environmental Quality by November. State officials would then have more than six months to review the proposal.

While local officials had longstanding plans to expand the landfill, a rise in the volume of trash in recent years sped up the timeline. Although they had begun to set aside money for the expansion and secured a federal grant, the budget for the project remains short. In November, county commissioners agreed to give the health department $900,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars for the effort.

At the time, Hooper warned that the county might have to raise refuse assessments to cover the cost of the project.