Advanced Disposal Requests Permission to Pump Leachate to Johnson Creek

Many recently read the excellent articles in “The ‘Ville”, April 2020 pgs. 16-18, documenting the importance of Johnson Creek to our community. Johnson Creek is the last cold water fish stream in Wayne County and if you enjoy visiting Fish Hatchery Park, hiking in Cold Water Spring Nature Area or visiting the banks of Johnson Creek at any of numerous locations in Northville, you will understand how this treasure must be protected.

The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) recently learned through a Freedom of Information Act request, that Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) has submitted two separate permit applications, requesting permission to perform on-site treatment and discharge a significant quantity of leachate to the Johnson Creek. Leachate is the contaminated water that has percolated through the landfill or compost material. The leachate is currently being disposed at off-site commercial disposal facilities and/or Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) like Great Lakes Water Authority (aka - Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) which discharge into huge bodies of water. The proposed changes are strictly cost savings initiatives and run contrary to sustainability efforts.

On-site treatment and discharge into a low-flow cold water fishing stream is not the proper disposal option for these leachate streams. The optimum disposal option is at a Public Owned Treatment Works (POTW) like Great Lakes Water Authority or Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority. The residents of Northville Township should not suffer because the landfill’s host community, Salem Township does not have access to a POTW.  How many times have Northville residents who live west of Beck Road heard “why did you buy near a landfill?” sometimes directly from the landfill. Maybe the question now is “what kind of landfill would locate in a community without access to a POTW?”

The permits being requested are known as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and are issued or denied by the Water Division of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). TCI believes these permits will require a public comment period and a public hearing before they can be issued.

TCI is currently reviewing the applications, but honestly, we are not well versed in these types of permits. If there is anyone in the community with NPDES experience that is willing to lend a hand please drop us an email at info@theconservancyinitiative.org.

Below is a very brief summary of the permit applications based on a preliminary review.

Permit Application 1 - Compost Facility Leachate

ADS collects leachate in a lined pond at the compost facility located north of Six Mile Road. Historically, the leachate collected in the pond has been used for dust suppression on the landfill. [TCI questions if this practice should even be allowed and will follow-up with EGLE].

ADS is proposing discharging up to 15,000 gal/day of leachate to Johnson Creek. ADS has concluded based on very limited sampling of the leachate pond that the leachate “…does not contain elevated concentrations of conventional, nonconventional or toxic pollutants and the water can be easily treated, if needed, to remove the pollutant by utilizing appropriate treatment technologies.” Although ADS has not designed a treatment system they propose using Aeration, Bioaugmentation, Carbon Filtration, and/or UV disinfection lights to treat the water (if necessary).

TCI believes much more engineering is needed to design a robust treatment system before even considering this permit. We suspect the compost leachate may be rich in nutrients (fertilizers) and heavy metals (historic landscaping materials) which could be harmful to Johnson Creek.

Permit Application No. 2 - East Arbor Hills Landfill Leachate

The leachate from the closed East Arbor Hills Landfill has historically contained PCBs and therefore is collected separately from the active West Arbor Hills Landfill leachate. This leachate is currently sent by tanker truck to an off-site commercial disposal facility (which apparently is expensive).  

ADS has proposed installing equipment to treat up to 80,000 gallons per day of the leachate from the East Arbor Hills Landfill on-site and discharging the treated leachate to Johnson Creek. The treatment being proposed includes Dissolved Air Flotation to remove solids, Carbon Filtration, and Ion Exchange to removed PFAS and other contaminates.

Although the exact discharge points for the proposed operations may be slightly different both ultimate will result in approximately 100,000 gal/day (equivalent to a large fire hose) of treated leachate entering the Johnson Creek via a tributary running east from Napier Road to the Cold Water Spring Nature Area along the southern border of the Northville Ridge Community. A map showing the approximate location of this tributary is linked - click here.  

TCI does not believe a low flow cold water fishery is the proper repository for the leachate from this landfill. Even if the treatment technology proves to be adequate, Advanced Disposal’s should not be entrusted with the health of this stream based on their recent operating record. The Conservancy Initiative will track these permit applications closely and will issue comments if draft permits are issued. TCI will keep the community informed of the permit status to ensure the public’s comments can be heard.

What Can You Do?

If you are outraged by the thought of “treated” Leachate being allowed to enter Johnson Creek and would like to help, please consider writing your legislators with respect to your opposition to Advanced Disposal’s permit applications and/or please consider making a donation to The Conservancy Initiative to help fund our efforts in opposing Advanced Disposal Services Permit requests. Donate Link

May Letter to Attorney General and Community Leaders

[Click Here for a PDF version of this letter]

Dana Nessel, Attorney General

G. Mennen Williams Building
525 W. Ottawa Street
P.O. Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909  

Distribution: D. Nessel (MDAG), N. Gordon (MDAG), L. Clark (EGLE), M. Dolehanty (EGLE), J, Schinderle (EGLE), S. Miller (EGLE), L. Bean (EGLE), R. Nix, F. Shadko, M. Banner, S. Frush, S. Heath, M. Hermann, C. Roosen, M. Koleszar, D. Polehanki, S. Shinks, E. Pratt, T. Eggermont, B. Turnbull, K. Heise, M. Gallegher, C. Jankowski, D. Kindig (ADS), A. Testa (ADS)

Re: An Open Letter Regarding the Arbor Hills Landfill 

Dear Ms. Nessel,

Thank you for your consideration during this challenging time.  We at The Conservancy Initiative recognize that the Covid-19 pandemic is of utmost importance and while our request is unrelated, we are hoping that you may be able to follow-up with us. 

There remain thousands of people in our community negatively impacted by the Arbor Hills Landfill on a continuing basis, which residents must endure through the shelter-in-place order.  Several months have passed since we began writing to request your assistance with this issue. We have received responses from many of the community leaders that we have reached out to, but have not heard back from the Attorney General’s office. In addition, many grass root members of our organization have written personal notes to let you know how the landfill is impacting their families, but have only received form letters with very generic language as responses which appear to be without due consideration.

Per our prior outreach, The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) requests the Attorney General’s office take prompt legal actions to ensure Advance Disposal Services accepts the corrective actions proposed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and imposes penalties commensurate with the many years of non-compliant operation of the Arbor Hills Landfill. If this is not possible, we would like to understand why the Attorney General’s office will not support the enforcement of EGLE’s violation notices and requests for corrective action.

Our community continues to suffer from noxious odors while Advanced Disposal is regularly found to be the source of these odors and in violation (4 Violations issued to date in 2020, 17 Violations issued in 2019) of the landfill regulations established to protect the environment and the surrounding public. TCI supports EGLE as a committed resource to develop the necessary corrective actions to address the on-going issues at Arbor Hills, though it appears EGLE has little leverage to ensure corrective actions are taken or chance of reaching a settlement without your office bringing legal actions. TCI is concerned that ADS may be attempting to stall the negotiations (e.g., until their merger with Waste Management is complete which may force the process to start new).

In addition to the well-documented non-compliance events and the continuing community odors, we were recently notified that Arbor Hills has been added to EGLE’s MPART list of PFAS contamination sites. Although the investigation is on-going, it is likely this contamination is the result of the on-going operational short-comings at the Arbor Hills Landfill.

To help illustrate the continuing problem, and to arm community leaders with data to address the problem, The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) publishes periodic reports detailing the landfill’s odor statistics.  Additional statistics are available at https://www.ConservancyInitiative.org.

Data is scrubbed to remove invalid complaints (this is rare), multiple complaints made from the same household on the same day, and complaints that can be attributed to other sources (e.g., Consumers Energy). The table above shows a large percentage of complainants only make one complaint per month

Odor Complaints - Complaints are common when wind is light and from West to South West. Complaints track the wind conditions as well as the Weather Channel. Note that the best performance is about 100 complaints per month - UNACCEPTABLE. Pdf version of chart

Problematic Days - Everyone has different sensitivity to odors. Problematic days are days when 15 or more households complain. There is little doubt the odor is severe when 15 or more households spontaneously take the time to register a complaint. Pdf version of chart

I look forward to your response and would be happy to discuss further with you and / or your staff.

Respectfully,

Dave Drinan

The Conservancy Initiative

734-748-XXXX

April 16 Violation Notice - Leachate Management

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.

March 18, 2020 Violation Notice - Low Flare Operating Temperature

March 18, 2020 Violation Notice - Improper Operation of Flares

EGLE issued Advanced Disposal Services (ADS)  a Violation Notice dated March 18, 2020, alleging ADS had operated the two enclosed flares at temperatures which were lower than required by their permit at various times between Feb 14, 2019, and Nov 25, 2019. Emissions from the two enclosed flares were successfully tested in 2016 (i.e. - emissions were in compliance with permit requirements). Following a successful compliance test, the landfill is required to operate the flares at similar temperatures to those used during the compliance test. Apparently, ADS inadvertently used a lower temperature set point and operated the flares at lower than required temperatures for a significant period of time.

ADS supplied a very detailed response explaining that although the flares were operating at all times the setpoint combustion temperature was lower than required.  After reviewing the Violation Notice and ADS’ response, The Conservancy Initiative does not believe operating the flares at a slightly lower temperature posed a significant impact on the environment. What is alarming is the problem was allowed to continue for so long.  

PFAS Contamination Found at the ADVANCED DISPOSAL Arbor Hills Landfill

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of man-made chemicals that include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFAS have been used globally during the past century in manufacturing, firefighting and thousands of common household and other consumer products. These chemicals are persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. In recent years, experts have become increasingly concerned by the potential effects of high concentrations of PFAS on human health.

Groundwater wells located on the perimeter of the Arbor Hills Landfill were sampled for PFAS at the request of The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). One well was found to contain PFAS at concentrations above drinking water standards and as a result, additional remediation actions will be required by the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). EGLE and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were in the process of scheduling a town hall meeting to review the PFAS contamination discovered at the landfill when social distancing executive orders were put in place, thereby preventing such a meeting from being held.

EGLE and HHS have published a summary of the available information including a recorded town hall type presentation. The recorded town hall presentation gives an overview of PFAS issues, a summary of Michigan’s actions to address PFAS issues and specific information related to PFAS contamination found at Arbor Hills.

A link to the information available from EGLE is available here. The Conservancy Initiative is seeking additional information. Here is a very brief summary of the Arbor Hills PFAS contamination:

• Groundwater wells located on the perimeter of the landfill were sampled for PFAS at the request of EGLE. One sample contained slightly more than the 70 parts per trillion (ppt) standard for drinking water.

• Seven (7) residential water wells located just south of the landfill were tested for PFAS contamination and found to meet drinking water standards.

• NOTE – From the information provided by EGLE, groundwater from the Arbor Hills Landfill flows to the Southeast. There are no residential wells southeast of the landfill. The wells to the south represented those most likely to be impacted. Most households in the area have a municipal water supply and do not utilize well water.

• Advanced Disposal is working with EGLE to perform additional investigations including sampling to determine the limits of the contamination and the likely source.

Additional information from PFAS information from MPART is available here.

Ridge Wood Elementary Hydrogen Sulfide Air Monitor Update

Below is a reproduction of a letter from Advanced Disposal Services’ public relations consultant. The letter was received by the Township and provides an update on the status of the hydrogen sulfide meter planned to be installed near Ridge Wood Elementary School.

It is unclear how the current Stay at Home orders may delay installation. The Conservancy Initiative will pass on any additional information as soon as it becomes available.

##################################

(…….), good morning,

We want to share this update regarding the air quality monitoring station installation at Ridgewood Elementary, which we’ve also provided to state legislators. 

Advanced Disposal is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our Arbor Hills landfill neighbors and to providing the resources and expertise necessary to addressing questions.  The Ridgewood Elementary air quality monitoring station will provide technology needed for scientific air quality information, which we believe will bring confidence and comfort for parents and teachers of students at Ridgewood, as well as others in the neighborhoods near the school.  We appreciate the suggestion made by the community for this resource.

Working in coordination with the Northville School District, Advanced Disposal and district leaders are making good progress toward bringing the new Ridgewood Elementary air-quality monitoring station online.

• Monitoring equipment (data logger, cell modem, hydrogen sulfide monitor) has been delivered to Advanced Disposal and pretested for installation.  A protective shelter housing has been ordered to enclose equipment.

• Advanced Disposal and the Northville School District have recently ironed out most components of an access agreement that includes site layout and addresses additional school district comments and other details. We are awaiting any additional edits/changes in order to finalize the document, which then will allow site work to begin, including: prep and grade, install a cement pad on which the shelter housing and monitoring equipment will be placed, electric power installation, shelter housing and monitoring equipment installations. 

• Additional steps in the works for bringing the Ridgewood monitoring station online include: approval from DTE Energy to install a power line (underground) to the site; local permits (or waivers) for the cement platform pad, protective fencing and meeting stormwater management requirements.

• We anticipate monitoring to begin late April – early May, though factors beyond Advanced’ control, e.g. shelter-in-place restrictions associated with COVID-19, may impact vendor work. We will do our best to work though these circumstances.

We know this is of great interest to many, and Advanced Disposal  looks forward to showcasing the system with all of you when it is complete and operational.  We will keep you posted as we get closer to completing the project, but feel free to inquire any time.

EGLE Issues Two New Violation Notices

Northville - March 11, 2020

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) recently issued two Violation Notices to the operators of the Arbor Hills Landfill. The violations are evidence that the landfill continues to be operated out of compliance with the rules established to regulate municipal waste landfills. The result is the noxious odors and the unknown excess air emissions the downwind communities have been experiencing.  Please find an overview of our understanding of the violations below.

Arbor Hills Energy (A.K.A - Fortistar), who owns and operates the Landfill Gas to Energy Plant, has a similar record of noncompliance. Arbor Hills Energy has been exceeding SO2 emission limits since at least May of 2015. An additional emission test recently confirmed the continuing excess SO2 emissions (see Violation Notice below). Arbor Hills Energy should have solved the excess SO2 emission problem long ago by installing process equipment to remove sulfur from the landfill gas. This type of equipment is currently in use in many landfills in our region. Instead of installing the pollution control equipment, Arbor Hills Energy has attempted to increase its permit limits (unsuccessfully), likely in an attempt to save the expense of installing the additional equipment. 

Advanced Disposal Service Violation Notice

On February 27, 2020 EGLE issued a Violation Notice to Advanced Disposal Services for improperly venting landfill gasses directly the atmosphere. All landfill gasses must be combusted either in the Landfill Gas to Energy Turbines or in one of the 3 on-site flares. ADS discovered and reported that a valve was found partially open which allowed captured landfill gasses to by-pass Enclosed Flare #1 from February 7 - 10. The bypass situation likely contributed to the 35 odor complaints that were submitted during this time period.

The Violation Notice details all portions of applicable regulations and ADS’ permit which were violated.

Arbor Hills Energy (A.K.A. Fortistar) Violation Notice

On March 3, 2020 EGLE issued a Violation Notice to Arbor Hills Energy for exceeding SO2 limits contained in the facility’s air permit. The excess emissions total more than 40 tons/year which is the level where the emissions are considered ‘significant’ and trigger the need for a special type permit   (Potential for Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit). The violation notice is based on emission testing performed on Turbine #4 on December 20, 2019. The testing was required by the facility’s permit.

These results simply confirm previous test results and previous violation notices. Arbor Hills Energy has been continuously exceeding SO2 limits since at least May of 2015.

In light of these on-going violations, The Conservancy Initiative continues to request that the Attorney General’s office take legal actions to compel the operators of the landfill to accept the corrective actions developed by EGLE and impose penalties commensurate with the many years of noncompliance. Corrective actions should not have to be developed by State Regulators; the landfill operator, Advanced Disposal Services (ADS), has the knowledge and obligation to solve the problems.  To date, ADS has not operated the landfill in legal compliance, which is why the Attorney General must act.

The Conservancy Initiative attempts to maintain a list of all EGLE and USEPA Air Quality Violation Notices related to the landfill. Click here to view the list.

Open Letter to Attorney General and Community Leaders

March 3, 2020

To: D. Nessel (MDAG), N. Gordon (MDAG), L. Clark (EGLE), M. Dolehanty (EGLE), J, Schinderle (EGLE), S. Miller (EGLE), L. Bean (EGLE), R. Nix, F. Shadko, M. Banner, S. Frush, S. Heath, M. Hermann, C. Roosen, M. Koleszar, D. Polehanki, S. Shinks, E. Pratt, T. Eggermont, B. Turnbull, K. Heise, M. Gallegher, C. Jankowski, D. Kindig (ADS), A. Testa (ADS)

Re: An Open Letter Regarding the Arbor Hills Landfill

Dear Community Leader,

Another month has passed without a corrective action plan to address the continuing environmental compliance problems at the Arbor Hills landfill. Although the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has issued many violations to Advanced Disposal Services (ADS), they have very little leverage to force compliance when dealing with a recalcitrant company. As a result, the communities downwind of the landfill, including an Elementary School, continue to suffer from noxious odor events and unknown air emissions.

The downwind communities have heard countless promises from the numerous management teams that have operated the Arbor Hills Landfill over the past several years. Every new management team apologizes for the past and promises that things will change, but conditions have not improved. The current management team doesn’t even attempt to communicate with the community.

The Conservancy Initiative again requests the Attorney General’s office take legal actions to force the operators of the landfill to accept the corrective actions developed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and impose penalties commensurate with the many years of noncompliance. Immediate actions are required as the Waste Management / Advanced Disposal Services merger is nearing completion. The Conservancy Initiative fears completion of this merger before the enforcement actions are finalized would present a new complication.

To help illustrate the continuing problem, and to arm community leaders with data to address the problem, The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) will continue to publish periodic reports detailing the landfill’s odor statistics.  Additional statistics are available at https://www.ConservancyInitiative.org.

February 2020 Metrics 

February 2020 was more of the same. Concerned residents submitted 200 valid odor complaints. (200 is actually a low month!) The complaints were submitted by 118 unique email addresses which means most did not submit multiple complaints.  There were 9 complaints submitted from the Ridge Wood Elementary School, 4 days with 15 or more complaints and 6 days where no complaints were submitted.

Data is scrubbed to remove invalid complaints (this is rare), multiple complaints made from the same household on the same day, and complaints that can be attributed to other sources (e.g., Consumers Energy). The table above shows a large percentage of complainants only make one complaint per month

The number of odor complaints is trending up even after significant investments have been made at the landfill. Pdf version

Problematic days have been conservatively defined as days when 15 or more residents submit a valid odor complaint. Pdf version

Problematic days are trending up!

Please contact The Conservancy Initiative if you have any questions or would like a detailed review of this data.

Respectfully,

The Conservancy Initiative

ddrinan@TheConservancyInitiative.org

EGLE Annual Landfill Report and Emission Test Reports for Flares and Turbine #4

Several new reports with information related to the Arbor Hills Landfill recently became available on the State of Michigan Environmental, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Website. Although there is no unexpected information contained in these reports, The Conservancy Initiative believes all relevant information should be made available to residents.

EGLE Releases Annual Solid Waste Report

EGLE recently released its 24th annual solid waste report. This report is issued annually and details waste produced by county and waste accepted by each landfill in the state.  Here are the key items in the report:

• Arbor Hills Landfill capacity is estimated at 8 years (page 23 of the 2019 report). The Conservancy Initiative is attempting to verify this estimate.

• More than 85% of the waste accepted at Arbor Hills originates outside of Washtenaw County. This begs the question - will Washtenaw County need a landfill when Arbor Hills’ capacity is expended.

• Arbor Hills Landfill is not accepting any waste from Canada (page 28).

Review the report and past years’ reports here.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Emission Testing

Arbor Hills Energy (also known as Fortistar) commissioned emission testing on the outlet of the Turbine #4. The testing is required by the landfill’s Clean Air Act Renewable Operating Permit.  As expected, Arbor Hills Energy failed the test and continues to exceed their allow permit limits for SO2 emissions.

                                               Test Results                        Permit Limit

SO2 emissions (lbs SO2/MWhr)              2.16                                      0.9

Note -  1) SO2 permit limit for turbine #4 is based on MWhr of power produced in the turbine.

2) Emission testing for turbines #1, #2, #3 was last conducted in October 2018. The testing showed SO2 limits were being exceeded.

3) Arbor Hills Energy has been out of compliance with SO2 emissions since at least May of 2015.

The latest emission test report is available here.

Flare Performance Test Report

Advanced Disposal is responsible for the 3 permitted flares at the landfill.  Advanced Disposal commissioned performance testing on the two enclosed flares in December 2019. The Conservancy Initiative believes the two enclosed flares were recently refurbished (we are currently verifying this information).  The testing is required by the landfill’s Clean Air Act Renewable Operating Permit to demonstrated performance with EPA standards for landfill flares (i.e. - the destruction of organic compounds, CO and NOx emission).

Both Flares passed the performance testing.  The test report is available here. Performance testing was successfully completed on the Utility Flare in April 2019. The test report is available here.

The Conservancy Initiative cautions readers that emission test reports are very detailed and can be difficult to read.  For those that are adventurous here is a link to the majority of EGLE’s publicly available documents concerning Arbor Hills. The documents include Test Reports, Violations Notices, Landfill Responses to violations, etc.

Printable Version of Post

Open Letter to Attorney General, EGLE and Community Leaders

February 3, 2020

To: D. Nessel, L. Clark (EGLE), M. Dolehanty (EGLE), J, Schinderle (EGLE), S. Miller (EGLE), L. Bean (EGLE), R. Nix, F. Shadko, M. Banner, S. Frush, S. Heath, M. Hermann, C. Roosen, M. Koleszar, D. Polehanki, S. Shinks, E. Pratt, T. Eggermont, B. Turnbull, K. Heise, M. Gallegher, C. Jankowski, D. Kindig (ADS), A. Testa (ADS)

Re: An Open Letter Regarding the Arbor Hills Landfill

Dear Community Leader,

The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) has been collecting community odor/emission complaint data submitted by local residents related to the Arbor Hills Landfill since February 2018. This data is used to alert the landfill and community leaders of issues at the landfill. Recently, TCI began publishing monthly metrics to measure the Odor Performance of the Arbor Hills Landfill. TCI believes these metrics are a valuable tool to measure the effectiveness of actions taken to correct the continuing non-compliance issues at the Arbor Hills Landfill.  TCI is interested in additional performance measurement tools (e.g., emission monitors) if and when made available by the landfill operator.

TCI encourages all community leaders to visit The Conservancy Initiative Website (https://www.ConservancyInitiative.org) for additional information.

Data is scrubbed to remove invalid complaints (this is rare), multiple complaints made from the same household on the same day, and complaints that can be attributed to other sources (e.g., Consumers Energy). The table above shows a large percentage of complainants only make one complaint per month

Odor Complaint Trend - Click Here for a pdf version

The number of odor complaints is trending up even after significant investments have been made at the landfill. Please contact The Conservancy Initiative if you have any questions or would like a detailed review of this data.

Actual Data Taken from Odor Report: January 31st Odor Event

On January 31st light winds (<5 mph) from the Southwest and an apparent problem at the landfill resulted in 50 odor complaints from residents mainly Northeast of Arbor Hills. Noxious odors were detected 2 - 3 miles away. TCI requests that landfill management take responsibility for incidents like this and inform the community of the issue, what corrective actions are planned and anticipated timing to resolve the issue.

Odor Complaints on January 31, 2020. Pins represent odor complaints received on January 31st (mainly in the evening) - Click Here for pdf version

The Conservancy Initiative’s requests - What can be done?

• EGLE is best equipped to develop corrective actions to bring the landfill into compliance. Advanced Disposal should be given a hard deadline to agree to EGLE’s corrective actions and settlement proposals. EGLE must insure any settlement contains rigorous corrective actions with timelines and stipulated penalties for non-compliance, including penalties for community odors.

• If a settlement cannot be reached the Attorney General must move forward with a lawsuit to force compliance.

• TCI believes legal actions are overdue with respect to Fortistar, who has been in willful non-compliance with SO2 emission limits since at least mid-2015.

• TCI implores Advanced Disposal to improve community relations. We ask that ADS take ownership for events like Jan 31st and communicate corrective actions.

• TCI encourages EGLE to promptly schedule community odor surveys whenever odor complaints spike, similar to January 31, and issue Violation Notices as appropriate.

• Neighboring communities to landfills should have input and decision rights into landfill placement and expansion given the impacts on neighboring communities (e.g., emissions, odors, groundwater issues, litter, noise, truck traffic, etc.)

• All community leaders should pledge to oppose any landfill expansion based on the historical non-compliance at this site.

Respectfully,

The Conservancy Initiative

https://www.ConservancyInitiative.org

Download a pdf version of this letter

The Odor Report has a new look and improved functionality!

January 23. 2020

The Odor Report has been an extremely useful tool in our fight to drive environmental regulatory compliance at the Arbor Hills landfill. The Conservancy Initiative (TCI) is committed to maintaining The Odor Report to ensure this critical tool is available for our ongoing efforts. Additionally, TCI is committed to ensuring that your donation money goes far. Towards this end, the website has been updated with a slightly new look along with some functional and security enhancements based on user feedback over the past couple of years.

The new website is www.tciodorreport.com. The current website (www.theodorreport.com) will continue to function by automatically redirecting to the new website. As a result, we don’t anticipate any disruption to our user community. This transition will occur in the next 24-48 hours. Again, we don’t anticipate any disruption to the user’s ability to report odors during this transition. All the data from the current system will be saved for reporting purposes before the transition. 

The new application provides savings of nearly 97% every year over the current hosting service. TCI will invest the savings towards additional efforts to bring the landfill in to environmental compliance. 

Here is what’s changed:

• The drop-down lists for Odor Scale and Odor Duration fields have been updated

• A Captcha verification has been added before submission to eliminate malicious bot submissions

• The confirmation emails to the submitter have been eliminated; less email clutter

• The option to request someone to contact you has been removed

• User accounts have been removed. One less user name/password to remember 

 Here is what remains the same:

• You can continue to submit an odor report without logging in

• You can choose to remain anonymous while submitting your odor report

• You will see the confirmation page after submission that shows how many odor reports have been submitted so far today, very similar to the current confirmation page

• Odor complaint is immediately sent to the relevant authorities 

If you have any feedback or issues while using the new website, please send a note to info@theconservancyinitiative.org so we can take action. Thank you for your support. 

Sincerely,

The Conservancy Initiative Team

The Conservancy Initiative Survey

Happy New Year to you all!

The Conservancy initiative is looking to partner better with its supporters in 2020 and focus on the issues that matter most to this community. Please click the link below to complete a short survey. This 10 question survey is completely anonymous (unless you provide your information at the end) and should take about 3-5 minutes to complete. You can do this in a snap from your mobile phone. 

To avoid trolls submitting inaccurate information, we are not going to post this link on NextDoor. However, please feel free to share this link with your friends and neighbors.

https://tinyurl.com/TCISurvey2020

Regards,TCI Team

Fortistar Violation Response & New Landfill General Manager

Northville - January 9, 2020

Fortistar Responds to Violation Notice by Taking Issue with the EGLE Inspection Process

In early December 2019 the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued a  Violation Notice to Fortistar Methane (also known as Arbor Hills Energy) - see prior posting for details. Fortistar owns and operates the “landfill gas to energy plant” at Arbor Hills and has been continuously exceeding the allowable level of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emissions since mid-2015. The Violation Notice continues to address the same issues identified in a significant Violation Notice issued on February 1, 2019 which have not been corrected.

This week Fortistar used an attorney (Matthew B. Eugster of VARNUM – Attorneys at Law) to submit a response to the December Violation Notice which did not address the issues identified by EGLE but instead took issue with EGLE’s inspection process.  

A company committed to environmental compliance should be able to correct all the cited violations. The most significant violation involves excess SO2 emissions which have continuously exceeded allowable limits since May 2015.  A competitor’s landfill in Riverview MI corrected a similar violation by cooperating with EGLE, installing equipment to safely remove sulfur from the landfill gas, and obtaining a new permit.   Other violations include knowingly venting odorous gases directly to the atmosphere (they should be routed to a flare) and the unpermitted combustion of diesel fuel.

The Conservancy Initiative believes Fortistar’s response is unacceptable and seems to demonstrate a company that is not committed to sustainability or in becoming a respected member of the community.

Advanced Disposal Service Appoints a New Landfill General Manager

The new landfill General Manager, Don Klindig, is now on-site. The Conservancy Initiative optimistically wishes Mr. Klindig every success in bringing the Arbor Hills Landfill into compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and ensuring a sustainable community for those impacted by the Arbor Hills Landfill.

January 4, 2020 - Update

Northville - January 4, 2020

State of Michigan Environmental News - Arbor Hills Landfill

The Conservancy Initiative has received some feedback that our letter writing is getting some attention in Lansing, but to date, we have not received a formal response.  The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), as well as the Attorney General and Governor, are currently feeling pressure from the local media and citizens over the “Green Ooze” found on I696 during the holidays. There have been some interesting quotes in the news recently.

Attorney General Dana Nessel pledged Monday that her "department will do everything in our power" to help the Whitmer administration and is "creating a Criminal Unit that will focus specifically on environmental prosecutions." https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/12/30/whitmer-considers-legal-action-contaminated-ooze/2777108001/ 

A Quote from Governor Whitmer, "...Today I also directed EGLE to conduct a formal review of its pollution inspection procedures to strengthen enforcement and accountability." https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/12/31/michigan-epa-march-ooze-sites-risk-spreading-pollution-low/2777313001/

The Conservancy Initiative believes that now is an excellent time to reach out to our elected officials in Lansing.  We have pre-addressed postcards available to share your thoughts with the Governor and/or the Attorney General.  To obtain pre-addressed postcards, please contact The Conservancy Initiative at mailto:info@theconservancyinitiative.org

Although the “Green Ooze” makes good TV and photos, the invisible air emissions from Arbor Hills pose a much greater risk, and Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) is a very profitable company as opposed to the defunct company responsible for the “Green Ooze”.  ADS must be held accountable for their issues before they merge with Waste Management. 

November 2019 Odor Violations

The community observed and submitted over 1,100 odor complaints in November which prompted EGLE to conduct two community odor assessments.  Violations notices were issued on both occasions.  ADS’s response to the violations did not reveal a company that is committed to solving the problem. Their response documented very few actions taken and made no significant commitments for future improvements. Below is a review of the ADS response, and a chart showing odor complaints and ADS’s actions is attached.

• ADS acknowledged low level gas odors.

  TCI Comment: LOW LEVEL??; over 1,100 complaints! Odors were observed from as far away as downtown Northville, Novi, and Plymouth. Even landfill friendly officials from Salem Township conceded they observed terrible odors in downtown Northville.

• ADS could not determine the time and duration of the odor violations.

  TCI Comment: TRY HARDER, look at the data!

• The first corrective action was taken on Nov 15th.  ADS worked until Midnight.

  TCI Comment: Violations were issued on 11/2 and 11/19; odors began 10/22. Was anything done before 11/15?

• On 11/25 ADS hired a contractor to lay down additional cover.

  TCI Comment: This was one month after the odors began.

• Additional remedies taken were on-going actions.

  TCI Comment: Nothing new was implemented to correct these odors.

• ADS’s proposed actions make no commitment and propose no timetable for completion.

  TCI Comment: ADS “may do something.”  This may be ADS’s weakest proposed corrective actions ever.

• ADS claims they are committed to minimizing off-site odors and in the same paragraph states that periodic odors are unavoidable.

• TCI Comment: This doesn’t sound like much of a commitment.

TCI Summary Comment: ADS’s response is completely UNACCEPTABLE!!!

December 2019 Odor Complaint Scorecards

The updated odor complaint scorecard data is available on The Conservancy Initiative website.  The trend for odor complaints continues to increase.

New Violation Notice for Fortistar and Advance Disposal Responds to Odor Violations

Northville - December 11, 2019

Earlier this week the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued another Violation Notice related to the Arbor Hills Landfill. The latest Violation Notice was issued to the landfill gas to energy plant owner/operator, Fortistar Methane, and was nearly identical to the Violation Notice issued on February 1st of this year but has not been resolved.

The most significant violations cited involve SO2 emissions exceeding permit limits (on-going since May 2015). The higher SO2 emissions trigger the need for a significant new air emission permit called a Potential for Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit. Other issues include the unpermitted use of diesel fuel to start turbines and venting of landfill gas during turbine start-up and shutdown.

The SO2 emission issues are complicated issues to resolve, but this is Fortistar’s core business. A similar SO2 emission problem was quickly resolved at the Riverview Michigan landfill (by a more honorable company) by installing process equipment to remove the sulfur compounds.  

Also this week, Advanced Disposal Service (ADS) responded to recent violation notices for community odors. It is the opinion of The Conservancy Initiative that the ADS response is not a serious response.

When reading ADS response, it is important to know that odor complaints were being received from 10/22 until at least 11/24 every day the wind was blowing towards Northville. According to the ADS response, there were no actions taken to address odors for almost one month, ADS did not report a cause for the odors or make any commitment for corrective actions. ADS does warn EGLE that occasional odors are beyond their control (which is a total disregard for regulations).

What Can You Do to Help?

The Conservancy Initiative is trying hard to elevate the landfill compliance issues. If you haven’t already contacted the Attorney General and Governor please consider completing a postcard (or two) or a letter in the near future. To obtain self-addressed postcards to our Governor and Attorney General please see the posting below or contact The Conservancy Initiative at Salemtownshipdump@gmail.com.

All recent violation notices and responses can be found HERE. (Warning the list is long).

Postcard Writing Campaign - Advanced Disposal Arbor Hills Landfill

Northville Township - December 11, 2019

Thank you to everyone who picked-up and helped distribute postcards for our Postcard Writing Campaign.

We are very much encouraged by the positive response to date.

 If you still would like to participate, it’s not too late; The Conservancy Initiative will be handing out postcards just before and during the next regular meeting of the CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF NORTHVILLE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

 Our next distribution of Postcards is as follows:

 Time: Thursday December 12th – 6:45 to 8:00 pm

 Location: Northville Township Office (Inside the Building)

44405 Six Mile Road

Northville, MI 48168

As previously noted, The Conservancy Initiative believes our best hope to improve the compliance record of the Advanced Disposal Arbor Hills Landfill is for our Attorney General and Governor to get involved. We also believe that Governor Gretchen Whitmer needs to be made aware of the ever-increasing negative impact that the landfill is having on the quality of life of so many individuals.

We continue to encourage you to drop by and pick-up postcards for yourself, and for your distribution to similarly minded individuals.

 We thank you in advance for your continued willingness to participate in this campaign.

Postcard Writing Campaign - Advanced Disposal Arbor Hills Landfill

Northville Township  - December 2019

The Conservancy Initiative believes our best hope to improve the compliance record of the Advanced Disposal Arbor Hills Landfill is for our Attorney General and Governor to get involved. We have reached out to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to request her office to begin legal actions to compel compliance at the landfill. We also believe that Governor Gretchen Whitmer needs to be made aware of the ever-increasing negative impact that the landfill is having on the quality of life of so many individuals.

Therefore, as part of our effort to highlight ongoing issues/concerns to both the Attorney General and the Governor, we are rolling out a “Postcard Writing Campaign.”

Pre-printed/addressed postcards (addressed to either the Attorney General or the Governor), are available for your use, to directly share the negative impact that the Advanced Disposal Arbor Hills Landfill is having on you, your family or your business. We are hopeful that your candid comments (similar to those regularly shared on the ‘Odor Report’ and social media) will leave a meaningful impact on the Attorney General and the Governor. Also, if your children are of writing age (and with your permission) we encourage their participation as well. In mailing the postcard, you can choose to remain anonymous (by signing only your first name and location e.g. – Northville Township) or supply your complete name and address. Please affix a standard US Postal stamp before mailing.

For our initial Postcard Distribution, postcards will be available for pick-up as follows:

Times:

Friday, December 6th - 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Saturday, December 7th - 8:00 am to 11:00 am

Location:

Northville Township Office Parking Lot

44405 Six Mile Road

Northville, MI 48168

We strongly encourage you to drop by and pick-up Postcards for yourself and for your distribution to similarly minded individuals.

We thank you in advance for your willingness to participate in this campaign – our collective voices will prove difficult to ignore.

Carpe Diem – “Seize the Day”

Arbor Hills Landfill Receives Over 1,125 Odor Complaints during November

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.

New Summary Update Document from EGLE

Compliance Negotiations Are Continuing

Northville - November 21, 2019

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) published a summary update today. Links to all the EGLE summary updates are included below.

The update lists several ways to make a complaint. The Preferred place to report odor issues was not listed but continues to be The Odor Report. Odor issues reported on this site are immediately transmitted to Landfill Personnel, EGLE Inspectors, Northville Township Personnel, The Conservancy, local politicians, etc. Please don’t make reports directly on the Advanced Disposal Website as the Website has not been updated in over a year, and the complaint by-passes The Conservancy Initiative’s database.

Summary Reports

NEW!! July 2019 - October 2019 Summary NEW!!

March 2019 - June 2019 Summary

September 2018 - February 2019 Summary

January 2018 - April 2018 Summary

September 2017 - November 2017 Summary

Landfill Background

Advanced Disposal Receives Violation Notice for Continuing Community Odors

EGLE RESPONDS TO ODOR COMPLAINTS WITH SUNDAY ODOR SURVEILLANCE

There have been over 350 community odor complaints received during the first 12 days of November and this is after Advanced Disposal Service completed repairs to the West Haul Road drain and installation of a new leachate sump system at TS01. These projects were promised to correct the majority of the odor problems.

We learned today, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued another Violation Notice to Advanced Disposal for continued community odors. As a direct response to the numerous odor complaints on Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd, EGLE conducted neighborhood odor observations on Sunday, November 3rd which resulted in the violation being issued today.

EGLE also sent an email to the landfill management earlier today requesting the landfill update the community on actions it taking to correct the odor issues. The email referenced frequently complaints from parents with school-age children at Ridgewood Elementary. EGLE states these complainant’s concerns deserve and require a response and directed ADS to update the community on actions being taken to correct the odors. It is unclear how these updates will be received. The Conservancy Initiative will pass along any pertinent information we receive from the landfill.

The Violation Notice is attached. The following post is a pictorial representation of odor complaints received on Friday, November 8th when over 100 complaints were received. These maps show how widespread the impact can be.

As always, if you think you can help our efforts in any way, please contact one of the Conservancy Initiative Directors. One of the easiest ways to help is by making a contribution. You can contribute by using this link to our PayPal account or by sending a check to P.O. Box 722, Northville, MI 48167. The Conservancy Initiative is a Michigan environmental nonprofit 501c3 corporation.