Federal environmental regulators have reached a settlement with the owners of a Niagara Falls landfill that could result in the company paying a substantial fine and changing its operation to reduce the amount of noxious and harmful chemicals emanating from the site.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that under its proposed settlement with Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill, LLC, the company would be required to pay a $671,000 penalty for violating the federal Clean Air Act.
In addition, EPA officials said the terms of the settlement would require Allied Waste to operate a gas collection and control system designed to reduce the amount of methane and other harmful chemicals being released from the landfill, which is located off Niagara Falls Boulevard near Exit 22 on Interstate 190.
The landfill has for years run afoul with neighboring businesses and homeowners who have complained about noxious odors from the site and its impact on the bustling commercial area along nearby Military Road in the Town of Niagara that includes Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA and dozens of stores and restaurants.
Under the consent decree, in addition to the estimated elimination of 86,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent methane emissions, EPA officials said the on-site gas collection and control system that Allied would be required to operate, as well as other operational changes it must implement, would prevent 32 metric tons of non-methane landfill gas emissions per year.
“Methane is a climate super pollutant that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and landfills are the third largest sources of methane emissions in the United States,” said David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s agreement will require Allied to control its unlawful methane emissions and hold the company accountable for its violations of the Clean Air Act.”
EPA officials said the settlement also includes capping the vents on parts of the landfill that have been inactive, monitoring the emissions and the gas wells, applying for updated state permits including a Title V major source permit, and keeping records of its compliance activities.
The settlement resolves Clean Air Act claims alleged in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA claiming that the company failed to timely install and operate a gas collection and control system on the active and inactive cells of the landfill, which caused excess landfill gas emissions to be released to the atmosphere. The complaint also claimed that Allied failed to obtain federal and state air permits as required by law.
“The company must operate controls to dramatically slash the climate-damaging pollutants that they are putting into our air every day,” said EPA Region 2 administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “These pollutants also have health impacts, so cutting these pollutants not only protects the climate, it also safeguards the health of the people living near this landfill.”
A proposed consent decree between the agency and the company has been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it can be formally approved by the courts.