EGLE Issues the Second Violation Notice during November
Northville - December 2, 2019
November Odor Complaints and Violation Notices
November 2019 was a very bad month for the communities downwind of the Arbor Hills Landfill. There were 1,139 odor/emission complaints received as a result of the landfill. The odor/emission complaints covered a much broader territory than normal, with odor/emission complaints being received from Northville Township, Plymouth Township, Downtown Northville and even further away as low winds seemed to allow the pungent cloud to drift far and wide. The most significant number of odor complaints came during the early evening hours.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is currently leading negotiations in an attempt to reach a settlement with the landfill owner, Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) to correct long-standing violations that have led to the continuing odor problems. The negotiations are not progressing well.
EGLE issued another Violation Notice to ADS based on an odor surveillance conducted on November 19th. (Community residents issued over 100 odor complaints on this day alone). This is the second Rule 901 Violation (odor violation) issued by EGLE in November. A response is due by December 19th.
The Conservancy Initiative has received information that indicates that Brian Sanders, the Landfill General Manager, is leaving. Brian has only been the General Manager since the end of August and will be leaving before Christmas. Brian was the 3rd General Manager at the landfill over the past year. Obviously, the leadership turnover is not helping an already bad situation. We are not currently aware of who will take over as the new General Manager but we will attempt to make contact with the new General Manager as soon as he or she is named.
The Conservancy Initiative has updated the charts on its Website and will be distributing this information to all key personnel to inform them of the terrible performance of the landfill. The odor reports provide a small window into the on-going and increasing issues with the landfill. The data does not lie - the problems are getting worse, not better. Please feel free to use this data to further our cause in any way.
Outreach to the Attorney General
The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) believes our best hope to improve the compliance records of the landfill is for the Attorney General to get involved. We have reached out to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel with a letter and through several back-channel contacts to request her office to begin legal actions to compel compliance at the landfill.
We are aware that many others may have made similar efforts. If you have made efforts to reach out to the Attorney General, the Governor or others, we would like to share your letters (with your permission) on our website as examples for others. If you have something you are willing to share, please contact ddrinan10@gmail.com. Please scrub any personal information from your documents before sharing.
Postcard Writing Campaign
We are in the process of putting together a very simple Postcard Writing Campaign as part of our effort to highlight ongoing issues/concerns to the Attorney General and the Governor. We will have more details to share later this week and will need lots of help at that time so please get your pens ready.
Public Meetings, Coffee Hours, Trustee Meetings, Board Meetings, etc.
Public forums like our State Legislator’s coffee hour or the township trustee meeting are great opportunities to let our elected officials know what our number one issue is. Remember, there is always an opportunity for anyone to get a few minutes to speak at these forums. TCI regularly attends Northville and Salem Township Trustee Meetings, Coffee hours with our State Senator and Legislator, Washtenaw County Commissioner Meetings, Democratic Party Meetings, etc; anywhere we might be able to get the ear of our elected officials to let them know the problem is not getting better.
We encourage other individuals and/or neighborhood groups to also attend. It would be good for the elected officials to hear from more than the same few people each month.