[1] Alpha Ridge was proposed in the late 1970s as an unpopular project that strained the public participation process to address the needs of a population expansion that would quadruple while it was in operation.

In 1976 the search centered around the 600-acre Burliegh Manor slave plantation purchased by future Maple Lawn developer Steward Greenbaum.

When updating the historical status of the plantation in 1976, County archivist Cleora Barnes Thompson added "It should be stated here that the presence of a landfill in the surrounding area of Burliegh might not be in any way harmful as it will prevent the encroachment of future suburban development and will later provide a large area for a park, recreation or open space".

The Company owners, Robert and James Moxley were the original land speculators for Columbia and children of former County Chairman Norman E.

[6] In February 1977 the Gibes-Woodbrier Alpha Ridge site was selected at the end of County Executive Edward L. Cochran's term.

Residents were informed that Alpha Ridge would operate until the year 2000 without expansion and be converted to a park at the end of its collection phase.

The director announced the effort was for safety, not increased housing density around the contaminated site, but joined Reuwer's land development company later.

[26] In 1995 Reston based SCS Engineers proposed a $15 million project to install a 68-acre 40 mm (2 in) thick plastic membrane over the landfill to minimize surface water from leaching.

A series of 150-foot deep wells surrounding the landfill were designed to pump and "evaporate" pollutants into the air, then dump the treated water into the Little Patuxent River.

[27] In January 1997, Ecker announced that the plastic cap to keep rainwater out would be reduced to 43 acres (17 ha), excluding sloped surfaces.

[30] In 1994, Interstate commerce laws were enforced removing local municipalities monopolies on commercial dumping locations.

Both sites were developed by Blake Van Leer II and were the first waste on rail facilities in Maryland and Virginia.

An onsite metal recycling program was initiated requiring contractors to provide daily deposits of fill-cover to the site.