No New Landfill

Arbor Hills landfill is quickly reaching the end of its permitted life in approximately 2028 - 2030 of its permitted life. based on EGLE’s annual report on Landfilling in Michigan. (See Report of Solid Waste Landfilled in Michigan). On page 24 (Table 10) of the Fiscal Year 2022 report, the estimated life of Arbor Hills landfill is 6 years (2028). The estimated life for all currently permitted Michigan landfills is 28 years (page 27).

The Conservancy Initiative’s primary goal is to prevent a new landfill from being permitted at the site.

GFL owns the property directly north of the existing landfill, north of Six Mile Road. It is no secret that Green for Life in partnership with Salem Township plans to use this property to expand the landfill capacity at the site. The Conservancy Initiative expects GFL will begin the approval process for a new landfill in 2024.

The State of Michigan recently revised the regulations (R324.115) that regulate waste disposal in Michigan. The updated regulations, commonly referred to as the Part 115 rules, were designed to improve recycling in Michigan. EGLE has a stated goal of increasing the State’s overall recycling rate from 19% to 49% by 2030. The higher recycling rates should significantly reduce the demand for landfill space in Michigan.

The updated part 115 rules are designed to increase Michigan’s recycling rate from the current 19.3% to 45% in 2030. This will significantly reduce the demand for landfill space in Michigan.

Protect Johnson Creek

Johnson Creek is the area’s only Cold Water Trout stream. Johnson Creek originates in Salem Township and flows through several of Northville’s most treasured parks. The Conservancy Initiative has found PFOS contamination at Arbor Hills is entering Johnson Creek with precipitation runoff.

The Conservancy Initiative reported the contamination to EGLE in 2021 and violations were issued but EGLE has been very slow to require corrective actions to be put in place. The impacts on Johnson Creek is continuing today.

The Conservancy Initiative is conducting periodic sampling of Johnson Creek to spotlight the issue and force EGLE and Arbor Hills to finally take corrective actions.

Regulatory Non-Compliance

We regularly hear the comment that ‘The landfill was here first, why are you complaining’ or ‘It’s a landfill, there are going to be occasional odors.’ Our answer is, that we are not trying to shut the landfill down, we just want them to comply with existing regulations and pay when they don’t comply. Even if the landfill was here first, that does not justify building a new landfill.

The Conservancy Initiative has assumed the role of a ‘Watch Dog’ group. We monitor the activities of EGLE and speak up when something is out of compliance. We ‘spotlight’ issues and speak up because we believe Arbor Hills must comply with all applicable environmental regulations and if they would the impacts on the surrounding communities would be minimized.

Arbor Hills Landfill has been the subject of several recent settlements to resolve environmental violations. The Conservancy Initiative and Community Involvement contributed to bringing these Enforcement Actions. Since 2016, Arbor Hills has paid for

• $1,577,834 in fines

• at least $27,000,000 in capital investments to correct deficiencies

• more than $2,000,000 in voluntary projects to reduce penalties.

• Increase monitoring and reporting to EGLE (the costs of are difficult to quantify)

• 2 enforcement cases remain open

In spite of the enforcement costs, GFL anticipates large returns from Arbor Hills and is ready to invest in a new landfill on adjacent property.