An agreement to open a trail that loops around the American Canyon landfill to the general public is around the corner — if an apparent roadblock can be removed.

The city has been negotiating for months with the Napa Vallejo Waste Management Authority to open an existing service road around the 100-acre property, a spit of land outside the city limits at the end of Eucalyptus Drive. The landfill, which closed in 1994, operates under a state-certified post-closure agreement.

Representatives for both the city and the authority, a multi-agency group that includes American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia, believe an agreement between the city and the authority to open the trail is imminent. The agreement may come before the American Canyon City Council on Oct. 20 and the authority’s board on Nov. 5.

Under the agreement, a fence will be built to keep the public from walking on top of the landfill, where methane gas continues to be harvested.

But Greg Pirie, the officer in charge of Napa County’s Local Enforcement Agency this week said he has not yet determined if the document that regulates the landfill closure will have to be amended, a process that may take weeks. Pirie, a solid waste program manager with Napa County, said he has yet to receive a proposal.

Trent Cave, the authority’s general manager on Wednesday reiterated his belief that opening the existing road to the public does not necessitate amending the landfill’s post-closure plan. Cave and city officials have underscored the fact that the trail is already in place.

“Our proposal is nothing,” he said.

Chris Peck, a spokesman for the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the state agency that certifies Napa County’s Local Agency, on Wednesday said the decision to amend the document is the local agency’s.

The multiple delays have frustrated city officials.

On Tuesday, City Manager Rich Ramirez said he was hopeful. “I believe that all the parties are moving forward in an expedient manner,” he said.

But told that the Local Enforcement Agency still needs a proposal to review in order to determine whether or not the post-closure document should be amended, a visibly annoyed Ramirez asked the city’s parks and recreation department to mail a map of the landfill with the existing service road clearly marked.

The city has begun construction on a new trail that will give residents access to the Napa River. Plans show that the new river trail will eventually connect to the loop trail around the landfill.

The trail will also connect to a new segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail between American Canyon and Napa, according to plans prepared by the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District. A state grant obtained by the district will pay for the construction of a section of fence around the landfill.