Monday, February 27, 2006

 

Massachusetts Attorney General sues landfill over odors and violations


AG REILLY SUES NEWBURYPORT LANDFILL OPERATOR FOR ODOR PROBLEMS AND SOLID WASTE LAW VIOLATIONS
February 23, 2006
CONTACT: SARAH NATHAN/AG (617) 727-2543; ED COLETTA/DEP (617) 292-5737

BOSTON -- Attorney General Tom Reilly is seeking a court order to stop the spread of noxious hydrogen sulfide gas emissions from a Newburyport landfill, which is producing nuisance conditions and threatening the health and safety of people living and working near the facility.

The lawsuit, filed today in Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), alleges that New Ventures Associates, LLC, operator of the Crow Lane landfill, is violating its Solid Waste permit and MassDEP enforcement orders, resulting in the release of hydrogen sulfide gas from the landfill. The lawsuit also seeks a court order requiring the landfill operator to install pretreatment controls to stop the spread of a potent, rotten egg-like smell.

"Our state environmental laws are designed to protect the public health and welfare," AG Reilly said. "We are working to make sure that landfill operators do everything necessary to fully comply with the Commonwealth's solid waste laws."

Residents and individuals working near the landfill have made repeated complaints about the strong rotten egg odors. In December, 45 separate individuals called the MassDEP, the city or New Ventures with complaints about the noxious smell. Last week, staff at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport reported that the smell had reached parts of that facility, including an operating room, briefly impeding preparation of patients for surgery.

Many individuals who reported the strong odor complained of eye and throat irritation, nausea and headaches, according to AG Reilly's complaint. Some reported difficulty sleeping on several occasions.

AG Reilly's complaint alleges that New Ventures did not assure that the facility's current gas treatment system was operating at all times. New Ventures also failed to apply or maintain an adequate temporary cover over open portions of the landfill, which is currently in the process of being closed and capped. As a result, AG Reilly alleges that a foul smelling liquid is leaching to the surface of the landfill and noxious hydrogen sulfide gas is being released in concentrations that are not only creating a public nuisance, but at times reaching levels that threaten the health and safety of area residents.

"The continued failure of New Ventures to properly rectify the landfill gas problem at the site is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated," MassDEP Commissioner Robert W. Golledge Jr., said. "Working with city officials and the Attorney General, we will ensure that the public health is protected and the public nuisance abated."

"This action by DEP and the Attorney General's Office addresses two of our major concerns regarding the landfill," Newburyport Mayor John Moak said. "The first being the most obvious, an odor condition creating a nuisance and potential health concern and second, identification of gas emissions from the landfill that may pose a health hazard to our citizens. It is this administration's desire to work with the landfill vendor for an expeditious and proper closing of the landfill."

MassDEP has worked with Mayor Moak, the Newburyport Board of Health and New Ventures to get the landfill operator to comply with all regulations governing the site. Those efforts have included requirements for appropriate cover at the site, the installation of a state-of-the-art landfill gas extraction system, and a cease-and-desist order the city recently issued.

AG Reilly is seeking civil penalties against New Ventures, and a preliminary injunction requiring that the landfill cease operations -- except those required to prevent or inhibit further releases of liquid leachate or emissions of hydrogen sulfide gas -- until a hydrogen sulfide gas pretreatment system is added to the facility's current gas extraction and treatment system.

Today the MassDEP issued New Ventures a notification that it has begun the process to access the $3 million trust established for purposes of ensuring closure and post-closure activities at the Crow Lane landfill. By issuing the notice, the MassDep has taken the initial step necessary to gain access to that trust, in the event that New Ventures fails to fulfill its responsibilities.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Ireland of AG Reilly's Environmental Protection Division is handling the case, with assistance from MassDEP attorney Michael Dingle and John Carrigan, Chief of the Solid Waste Division of MassDEP's Northeast Regional Office.