Preface
The Conservancy Initiative has intentionally remained quiet during these extraordinary times as we understand there are much more important issues facing our community. We have prepared this document for those who wish to be updated on landfill events. The Conservancy Initiative would like to thank all the Front Line essential workers for the sacrifices and services they have provided. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.
Current Status
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has continued to work throughout the “Stay at Home” order. EGLE continues to inspect the landfill and has issued 4 Violation Notices since the end of February. Summaries of these violations are available on our Web Site. The latest violation is explained below.
Virtual meetings are being held to negotiate enforcement settlements with both Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) and Arbor Hills Energy (Fortistar). Although The Conservancy Initiative is not involved in these negotiations, we check-in with EGLE regularly to learn as much as possible about the status. Based on our second-hand observations, The Conservancy Initiative does not believe ADS will ever voluntarily agree to the corrective actions and consent order being proposed by EGLE. We believe the best path for resolution of the issues at Arbor Hills is legally binding corrective actions developed by EGLE and required by a court order. The Michigan Attorney General’s office must take legal actions to force this outcome (i.e. - the people of Michigan vs. ADS).
There may be more certainty in the Arbor Hills Energy case. Although we cannot speculate on timing, this case is being led by the USEPA out of Chicago and we sense a settlement is drawing near. In both cases, the key to a successful outcome will be the corrective actions the companies are required to take to address the excess emissions and community odors.
The Conservancy Initiative will continue to send periodic status updates with odor complaint statistics to the Attorney General (AG) and other community leaders to keep Arbor Hills in the spotlight and request the AG take action.
April 16, 2020 Violation Notice - Excess Leachate Accumulation on Bottom Liner
When landfill waste degrades and rain rinses the resulting products out, leachate is formed. The black liquid contains many toxic organic and inorganic chemicals, including PFAS chemicals. The active sections of the Arbor Hills Landfill were constructed with two impervious liners (double lined) and leachate collection systems to prevent the leachate from impacting the groundwater outside the landfill footprint. Michigan regulations require the landfill operator, Advanced Disposal Services (ADS), to promptly detect and remove accumulated leachate from the liners, as well as report removed leachate volumes to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
EGLE issued a Violation Notice to ADS dated April 16, 2020, alleging multiple instances (six pages of details) where ADS did not properly manage leachate accumulating on the primary and secondary liners during the second half of 2019. (Note - leachate collecting on the secondary liner leaked through the primary liner system). ADS was issued a violation dated January 24, 2019, for similar leachate management issues. Excess amounts of leachate allowed to accumulate on the liner can damage the liner and impact the soils and groundwater outside the landfill.
Poor leachate management has resulted in other problems at Arbor Hills and is a significant part of the ongoing odor problems. EGLE has issued violations for leachate collecting and restricting flow in the gas wells. In a Violation Notice dated March 14, 2019 EGLE alleged leachate collecting in gas wells significantly degraded the effectiveness of the gas collection system.
... Of those 215 [gas wells with data available], 151 wells had more than 50% of the perforated well screen … submerged in liquid. Of those 151, 75 wells were more than 75% blocked and 35 wells were fully saturated with liquid… Good engineering practices note that no more than 25% of the well screen should be covered in water. The well data shows that overall, the effectiveness of the entire landfill gas collection system has been significantly degraded by this problem.
During site inspections, EGLE has also reported numerous leachate seeps where leachate has been observed seeping through the landfill cover. Some of these seeps have been very significant (requiring engineered collection/removal systems to contain) while others have been much smaller. All these leachate seeps represent potential violations, are sources of odors, and are potential sources of stormwater/surface water contamination. Precipitation at the site runs into a detention pond before eventually entering the Johnson Creek Drain. Any leachate spills or seepage could potentially impact the stormwater runoff and pollute this cold water trout stream. PFAS contamination in shallow groundwater is currently being investigated near Arbor Hill’s stormwater discharge location on Napier Road.
The problems with leachate management are not a secret to ADS. The previous landfill manager, Mark Johnson, recognized leachate management as a significant problem and was making plans to increase leachate removal in the spring of 2019. He shared his plans with EGLE during multiple meetings. Below are experts from an EGLE inspection report (N2688_SAR_20190402.pdf page 2).
... Mark was very frustrated that talks with him are going nowhere regarding increasing the amount of leachate through the township sewers to Yucca [Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority] from 100,000 to 250,000 gallons per day. (He thinks it will take at least year to return to normal levels).
The landfill “dewatering” plans all ended with the announcement of the potential Waste Management merger and a change to the management team at the landfill. Apparently, off-site leachate disposal is expensive.
Actions Needed
Although there appears to be several issues with the management of the landfill, leachate management is central to the problems at Arbor Hills. EGLE has been advocating for improved leachate management practices and has indicated their proposed settlement includes corrective actions to address leachate management.
The Conservancy Initiative does not believe ADS will ever voluntarily agree to the corrective actions and consent order being proposed by EGLE. We believe the best path for resolution of the issues at Arbor Hills is legally binding corrective actions developed by EGLE issued by a court order. The Michigan Attorney General’s office must take legal actions to force this outcome (i.e. - the people of Michigan vs. ADS).
The Conservancy Initiative will continue our efforts to highlight the issues at Arbor Hills and engage our community leaders. Your comments and ideas are always appreciated. Contact The Conservancy Initiative at info@theconservancyinitiative.org.