On October, 26th Northville Township filed a motion in the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County to request a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requiring the Arbor Hills Landfill (AHL) to stop placing waste in Cell 6A. Please take a moment to review this legal document.
Northville Township is seeking the TRO to protect residences of western Northville Township from the excess emissions and noxious odors that have been created by the start-up of Cell 6A at the AHL. The operation of Cell 6A began on or around July 6, 2023, and in just the last 30 days has led to a quadrupling of citizen odor complaints.
Figure 1 - Cell 6A Impact on Odor Complaints
From July 7, 2023, to October 24, 2023, Arbor Hills received 462 odor complaints.
Over 200 odor complaints were received during the first 22 days of October 2023.
For reference, only 15 odor complaints were received during the entire month of June 2023 prior to Cell 6A beginning operation.
The Arbor Hills Landfill is operating in violation of State environmental regulations including a Consent Judgement between EGLE and the landfill date 3/7/2022. EGLE issued a Violation Notice on October 10, 2023, citing a violation of the regulations [R299.4433(1)(c)] to ensure gases generated by the facility do not create a nuisance. Green for Life, the owner of AHL, does not dispute they are causing the odors but concluded that the corrective measures required to completely mitigate the excess emissions and odors would require a large-scale project to complete. Arbor Hills submitted a 120-day extension request to EGLE, until January 18, 2024, to complete the design and installation of a Gas Capture and Control System (GCCS) for cell 6A. EGLE granted the extension request.
Northville Township recognizes EGLE as the regulatory authority and does not seek to intervene in any negotiations between EGLE and AHL to address breaches in those parties’ consent judgment. Northville Township is seeking relief from the excess emissions and odors until all remediation and implementation measures required by EGLE are in place and operational.
The Conservancy Initiative thanks Northville Township leadership for its proactive actions and stands ready to support the Township. We encourage other community leaders to voice their support as well. We are hopeful the court will take action as early as next week to resolve the Township's motion and plan to publish updates as appropriate.
A press release from Northville Township is scheduled to be issued shortly.