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.