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September 2, 2010
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EPD clamps down on local C&D landfill
Published December 6, 2009
A Walton County landfill has until Dec. 21 to submit plans to eliminate excess odors emanating from the site.
On Nov. 19, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division issued a violation to the Caruthers Mill construction and debris landfill located on Highway 78 east of Monroe. The notice gave the owners — Florida-based Advanced Disposal — 30 days to reduce odors emitted from the site after several residents filed complaints with the state agency.
“We have been and continue to diligently address concerns raised by state and county officials,” said Charlie Gray, area president for Advanced Disposal. “We want (the odor) to go away faster than anyone else so we can return to being good neighbors.”
District 4 Commissioner Lamar Palmer contacted the county’s Planning and Development Department in late October about a number of complaints he received regarding the smell at the landfill. Complaints were also filed at the state level as well, and both county and state officials inspected the site. An EPD inspection Nov. 9 resulted in the notice of violation.
“We have lived on Cheek Road since 2002 and have not had a problem with the other two landfills,” nearby resident Paul Boone said in an e-mail to The Walton Tribune. “I have noticed over the last several weeks that the distinct ‘rotten egg’ smell has been drifting into our area and can be smelled in the mornings and evenings.
“Since the Walton landfill and the Highway 78 landfill moved in, we have not had a problem. We live about 200 yards from the pit of the Highway 78 landfill and have never had a problem with any sort of odor. However, the new Caruthers Mill landfill has been open only a short time and is on the other side of the highway and we are having this detestable odor lingering around our house.”
According to Pete Dasher, program manager for the Northeast District of the EPD, the Caruthers site poses a unique situation in that construction and debris landfills usually have no odor problems. Officials believe one source of odor is from wallboard that became saturated following heavy rains. The saturation caused sulfur-reducing bacteria which did not pose a health hazard but emits a foul odor. But Dasher said there may be another source as well.
Each construction and debris landfill is allowed a single industrial waste stream into their facility. In July, Caruthers was approved by the EPD to receive cardboard sludge at the facility — something no similar landfill in Georgia does.
“We are monitoring the site almost daily,” Dasher said. “Some days there is still a strong odor, some days there is noted improvement. The problem is hardly solved at this point. But the company is working hard to solve this problem.
“This is totally unacceptable.”
On Nov. 21, landfill officials applied an additional 6 inches of dirt on top of the 6 inches required by state guidelines and have spread a few hundred tons of lime over the area.
The Caruthers landfill is one of three along Highway 78 and is the newest, having opened in March. Advanced Disposal has 11 landfills all over the Southeast, including four in Georgia. A July inspection of the Walton County site by EPD officials found no significant violations, with the site scoring a 95 out of possible 100. Additionally, no other violations exist against the site.
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