Tonight, February 28th, the Arbor Hills Landfill caused a significant odor event which impacted several Northville Township neighborhoods but seem to impact the Northville Ridge neighborhood the hardest. The Conservancy Initiative checked the perimeter monitoring system data and sent the following email to EGLE and other local elected officials to make sure they are aware of the event and request follow-up actions.

When The Conservancy Initiative is occasionally asked, “How can I help?” We will respond that the two most important and simple things any resident can do are:

1. Report Noxious Odors using The Conservancy Initiative Odor Report. Odor reports are immediately shared with landfill personnel, EGLE, and several local elected officials. The odor reports are used to identify and correct issues as well as track the landfill’s performance.

2. Contact your elected politicians and make sure they understand your issues with the landfill and your opinion on a potential expansion. Your elected politicians are your representatives; make sure they understand your opinion.

Thank you to Northville Township Supervisor Mark Abbo and his team. Supervisor Abbo sent a letter to EGLE making it clear that Northville Township is opposed to any proposal from Arbor Hills to soften or weaken the Consent Judgment. <CLICK HERE> to read Supervisor Abbo’s letter.

The Arbor Hills Landfill is nearing the end of its life. Arbor Hills is expected to reach its permitted capacity in approximately 6 years. The landfill is actually filling at a faster rate than necessary since Green for Life (GFL) became the landfill owner because a significant amount of Canadian trash is being accepted. The Conservancy Initiative expects GFL to request a permit to expand the landfill, and extend its life, using the property they own North of Six Mile Road very soon.  

EGLE issued Violations Notices to Arbor Hills in October and December for not inadequately responding when action levels were reached. The violation notices cited 54 separate days from June 10, 2022 - December 6, 2022, when CH4 exceed action levels and Arbor Hill’s response was inadequate.

Green for Life (GFL), the current owner of the Arbor Hills Landfill, believes most of the high CH4 concentrations are due to atmospheric conditions, occur during times when odor complaints are not normally received (overnight hours with very calm conditions), and do not warrant corrective actions. GFL has requested changes to the perimeter monitoring system and the response requirements contained in the Consent Judgement.

The Conservancy Initiative, Northville Township, and the City of Northville Leadership believe all instances of high CH4 concentrations will eventually result in odors and must be investigated and corrected immediately. We strongly oppose the changes suggested by Arbor Hills.

Shortly after EGLE received GFL’s response to the October 13th Violation Notice a second violation notice was issued. EGLE stated GFL’s response to the initial Violation Notice as inadequate and since the initial violation, there have been 20 more days with methane exceedances. EGLE also informed GFL they consider the portable methane detection equipment used by landfill personnel to locate methane leakage to be inadequate.

For the past 5 years, residents who live in the shadow of the ever-growing Riverview Land Preserve have organized to oppose a proposed expansion of the landfill. The expansion plans are based solely on the economic needs of the City of Riverview as there is plenty of alternative landfill capacity already existing in Wayne County. …. They were rewarded when the Wayne County Solid Waste Facility Inclusion Committee denied the landfill’s expansion request.

The Conservancy Initiative was disappointed to learn the proposed NPDES permit for the Arbor Hills Landfill Remediation Site does not contain monitoring requirements for PFOS and PFOA. The Conservancy Initiative believes the nature of the water being treated at this site; contaminated groundwater which originates from near a slurry wall surrounding an un-lined municipal waste landfill poses a significant risk for PFAS[1] chemicals.

On August 23rd EGLE issued a violation to Arbor Hills Energy (a.k.a. Fortistar) for beginning construction of a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facility prior to obtaining the required air permits (commonly called Permits to Install or PTI). On September 1st EGLE announced changes to the AHE Consent Decree. This Consent Decree requires AHE to significantly reduce Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) by March 31, 2023. AHE has reported supply chain issues that are delaying the installation of the Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) plant they have announced.

On the evening of August 4th, the Arbor Hills Landfill reported a leachate spill into Johnson Creek using EGLE’s Pollution Emergency Alert System (PEAS). The Conservancy Initiative has obtained the incident reports submitted by GFL and documents from the EGLE inspection which occurred immediately following the incident.

The Conservancy Initiative Board of Directors is reaching out to the community surrounding the Arbor Hills Landfill for help. We are looking for involvement from disciplined members, with fresh ideas, willing to assist with our activities.

The Conservancy Initiative learned there was a leachate spill at the Arbor Hills Landfill on Thursday evening, August 4th which resulted in an unknown quantity of leachate being discharged into Johnson Creek. Based on verbal reports, a leachate collection sump pump at the landfill plugged (i.e. – the pump stopped pumping), leachate overflowed into the stormwater collection system and was discharged to Johnson Creek. GFL operating personnel responding to the incident reported the leachate spill (as required) using EGLE’s Pollution Emergency Alert System (PEAS).

The Arbor Hills Landfill has two permitted discharge points (outfalls) which impact Johnson Creek. Both of these permits are expiring and are in the process of being renewed (i.e. – basically new permits issued). The Conservancy Initiative recently submitted comments requesting EGLE add requirements for Arbor Hills to regularly monitor their discharges to Johnson Creek for regulated PFAS[1] chemical concentration. We believe the additional monitoring requirements are warranted due to the widespread PFAS contamination discovered at the site and the Arbor Hills Landfill’s poor environmental compliance record.

During the first 23 days of June, residents downwind of the landfill submitted over 100 valid odor complaints. The odor complaints were mainly the neighborhoods located very near the landfill, Steeple Chase and Northville Ridge. The Perimeter Monitoring System data gave very little indication of excess emissions or noxious odors during this time period (see analysis below). Methane (CH4) concentrations never approached the action level of 40 parts per million (ppm) required in the Settlement Agreement.

This past weekend, beginning on Saturday afternoon, several residents used The Conservancy Initiative’s Odor Reporting system to report an unusual vibration or noise causing vibration in their homes and even rattling windows.

Data from the Perimeter Air Monitoring Station is publicly available on a near real time basis. We have provided a link Perimeter Air Monitoring Station data on the navigation menu of The Conservancy Initiative Website (https://conservancyinitiative.org/) or you can access the site directly at <CLICK HERE>. Hourly data is typically posted within two hours or the actual sample time. The Website contains the latest data shown on a satellite image of the site or historical data downloaded.

Residents are encouraged continue submitting odor complaints if noxious odors are detected. Inquisitive residents may want to also review the data available from the Perimeter Monitoring system.

EGLE will be holding a community meeting to discuss the recently announced settlement in the Attorney General's lawsuit with the Arbor Hills Landfill on Thursday, April 28th at 6 PM. The meeting will be held virtually (video conference). Good attendance is extremely important to let EGLE and our elected leaders know how important the landfill issue is to our community.

Information on how to attend the community meeting can be FOUND HERE.

On Thursday, April 28th at 6PM, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will host an online community meeting to talk with the public about enforcement activities and other updates around the Arbor Hills Landfill in Northville, Michigan. <Click Here> to view the community meeting announcement with instructions on how to attend the meeting.

One of the most significant pieces of the Arbor Hills Consent Judgement is a requirement for Arbor Hills to install and maintain a network of air monitoring stations on the perimeter of the landfill. Appendix G of the Consent Judgement contains the details for the perimeter monitoring system. Methane (CH4) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) concentrations must be continuously monitored for the next 10 years.

In the first 12 days since the Consent Judgement was signed there have been:

• 48 odor complaints

• Complaints were made by 31 different households

• 95% of these odor complaints were made on just six days

• complaints were not made when the wind blows away from our neighborhoods