Thank you for your continued support for The Conservancy Initiative. We would like to provide everyone an update on the activities of TCI and at the landfill.
Leadership Change at The Conservancy Initiative
The board of directors of the TCI elected Ralph Lassel to be the new President replacing Tracey Birkenhauer. Ralph is a long time resident of Northville and was serving as the Vice President this year. Here is the current leadership team supporting Ralph:
Raj Mummineni - Treasurer
Jenny Cordina - Secretary
Dave Horan - Director
We will be looking to fill another vacant Director position soon. If you are interested in joining the board, please send a note to Salemtownshipdump@gmail.com
The Conservancy Initiative stays in regular contact with both EGLE (formerly the MDEQ) and EPA to monitor the status of the enforcement proceedings and to lobby for a favorable outcome. Although the process is slow, we have successfully used Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests to gain access to critical information in EGLE and EPA files. The Conservancy Initiative is insisting on compliance with all environmental permits and regulations. We believe compliance will reduce off-site odors.
There has been a lot of activity, but it is sometimes difficult to determine exactly where things stand as both the landfill operator, Advanced Disposal, and the operator of the landfill gas to energy plant, Fortistar, have active enforcement actions with both EGLE and the USEPA. The enforcement proceedings are held confidential until a settlement is reached.
Fortistar (sometimes referred to as Arbor Hills Energy)
Fortistar has been out of compliance with its SO2 emission limits since at least 2015. Fortistar has attempted to rectify the non-compliance requesting increases to their allowable SO2 limits as opposed to installing sulfur removal equipment. Other Michigan landfills (Riverview Highlands, Pine Tree Acres and others) have installed equipment to remove sulfur and reduce SO2 emissions. The requested permit modifications have all been denied by EGLE due to the permit applications being incomplete.
Although we cannot verify the current status with certainty, we believe the Fortistar enforcement case is being forwarded to the US Department of Justice for resolution (DOJ). EPA and EGLE would be joint litigants.
If the case is sent to the DOJ, they will make one last attempt to reach an out of court settlement before litigating. Any settlement must include installation of sulfur removal equipment and monetary penalties.
It is important to note 2 things:
The excess SO2 emissions are probably not the source of noxious odors from the landfill. The SO2 emissions are less than a steel mill, a power plant, or some factories and SO2 has an odor of a burnt match.
Nothing is certain. We will continue to monitor the agencies and keep you posted.
Advanced Disposal
The EGLE has levied numerous violations on Advanced Disposal this year. The violations are wide ranging, serious and too many to elaborate on in a short update. One of the results of the noncompliance has been odors in the downwind community.
The Conservancy Initiative’s goals are to reduce odors by requiring compliance with all permits and environmental regulations. We believe compliance with environmental regulations will result in significantly less odors.
Mark Johnson is the new landfill manager. Mark gave an optimistic presentation at a recent Northville Trustee Meeting. Working with EGLE, Advanced Disposal has developed corrective actions for several areas of significant odor potential and has begun to address them. Advanced Disposal reports the projects addressing these potential odor areas should be completed this summer.
Although there is still a steady flow of odor complaints, the complaints have been decreasing. EGLE personnel caution that any decrease in the number of odor complaints may be more a result of weather conditions than due to improvements at the landfill. EGLE inspectors believe there still is a high potential for odors although operations at the dump are improving.
Advanced Disposal has been meeting with EGLE on a regular basis to develop corrective actions for the violations identified by EGLE (including the active High Temperature Landfill Event).
We expect EGLE to present Advanced Disposal with a proposed consent order this summer. Hopefully EGLE and Advanced Disposal will be able to agree on a consent order. We believe Advanced Disposal is motivated to settle these issues. They realize an expansion request cannot move forward until these issues are settled.
If they cannot reach an agreement on a consent order, EGLE plans on sending the case to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. EGLE has kept an AG office attorney involved in the proceedings just in case.
The enforcement action with the EPA is a separate case and is much further along. The EPA settlement was actually negotiated in 2016 and required significant improvements be made to the landfill Gas Capture and Collection System (GCCS). These improvements were made in 2017 and 2018. The improved GCCS is capturing and treating 25% more landfill gas than in 2015. Through FOIA Requests we have learned that a settlement in the EPA enforcement may be near. A financial penalty may be announced later this summer.
Often times, environmental violators are asked to invest on projects to benefit the community rather than pay fines and penalties to the government. The Conservancy Initiative has made clear to both EGLE and EPA that we concur with this direction and that a primary community project is air quality monitoring downwind of the landfill.
Final Thoughts on Enforcement Actions - Lawsuit
The Conservancy Initiative believes the best way to reduce odors from the landfill is for the regulatory agencies to require compliance with all environmental permits and regulations. We believe compliance will reduce off-site odors.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) allows citizens to bring lawsuits and collect damages for non-compliance in the event regulatory agencies are not forcing compliance. The Conservancy Initiative is investigating its options in terms of suing the landfill operators. We continue to seek legal counsel to determine the best path forward. We have retained a reputable environmental law firm to assist us in this regard. The donations raised earlier in the year helped support this initiative.
If we do decide to move forward with a full fledged lawsuit, there will be costs associated with it. We will need support from the community. To be very clear, we will need SIGNIFICANT MONETARY DONATIONS from hundreds of people in order to cover the costs of a lawsuit. Please consider a donation to the Conservancy Initiative.
treasurer@theconservancyinitiative.org
@stop-the-dump
Northville Township Landfill Working Committee and TCI’s support
The township has formed a committee made up of a cross-section of residents as well as several township trustees and TCI to share information and develop strategies to address landfill issues.
The goals of the committee are to block future expansion of the landfill and work with the landfill and EGLE to reduce odors to pre-2015 levels (i.e. – odor complaints almost non-existent).
The committee has had some disagreements, but we are working through them. All in all, this is a very positive step. The township has insight into Lansing legislators and ideas for new legislation to block the landfill expansion. We need to work together. This is much better than getting 3 minutes at the podium during a Trustee meeting.
If you see any of the Northville Township Trustees thank them for this committee. Bob Nix, Fred Shadko, Symantha Heath attend every meeting.
We will be reaching out to you, our supporters, in the near future with ideas and asks to get involved and support our ongoing objectives.