The same year a $52 million project was earmarked to bring the landfill into compliance with Maryland Environmental regulations. By 1990, Alpha Ridge operations cost $75 a ton. In 1992, Howard County proposed to expand the landfill, beyond its original 2.3 million ton capacity. $11 million was budgeted to install cell liners on the remainder of the property to bring capacity up to 6.8 million tons. Citizen opposed the expansion showing documentation from 1978 that the intent was not to expand. Public hearings on expansion in February were emptied by the fire marshal for overcrowding. In 1993, Ecker sought alternatives as groundwater contamination suits were imminent. He proposed a regional trash incinerator facility with Anne Arundel County to provide power to NSA. On 8 June 1994, the County Council voted 5-0 to start transporting trash out of the county. An Anne Arundel transfer site was choose for the USA Waste residential contract and the historic Trinity Church graveyard in Elkridge was selected as a transfer station for the BFI commercial waste contract by creating a solid waste overlay zoning for the site. Alpha ridge remained in operation as hearings were held about lack of notification for the Elkridge waste transfer facility, and concerns about importing out of county residential waste. The redirection of waste at Alpha Ridge lost the $60 per ton commercial waste revenue, but reduced the residential collection expense to $33 a ton. Alpha Ridge remains open as a recycling center and transfer station. The Trinity Church trash transfer location was converted to the Blue Stream Housing development in 2014. The Alpha Ridge site was situated in a section of Marriottsville Maryland that was converting from mainly agricultural use to residential development. In 1987 The State granted permission to dig the landfill within 5 feet from the water table. Yearly water quality surveys were performed only in September 1978 and January 1991. By 1992, 1,600 residents in 300-400 subdivisions drew well water from the Alpha Ridge watershed. Well tests onsite in 1992 revealed contamination from seven paint and degreaser related compounds at eight times the current EPA limits and tetrachloroethene at twenty times the limits. A May 1992 test revealed that the clay lining and bedrock were not adequate to prevent contamination into the groundwater. In January 1993, the County executive claimed he had not been given the results to act upon. In 1993, the county faced multiple contamination issues, as the older Cars Mill landfill was found to have 390 drums of hazardous chemicals dumped on the landfill years after it was closed. In May 1993, Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning director Joeseph Rutter amends the county water service area to include land around the landfill including a new Donald R Reuwer development on the historic Waverly Plantation.