Landfill owners say they are working to improve conditions, image
By Jeff Martin
The Morning Journal
LISBON - A&L Salvage landfill owners and operators are taking significant steps in reducing those factors leading to operational violations that have recently plagued its reputation.
Stephen Callahan, director of operations for Liberty Waste Services in Pittsburgh, said the company feels the pressure from surrounding residents to improve conditions at the 42-acre site off state Route 45.
Speaking to the Morning Journal on Tuesday at the dump site, Callahan and owners admit that they have made some operating mistakes, but they’re now on the path to correcting the issues.
Among those issues fueling complaints from neighbors and drawing violation notices and fines from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) include a persistent smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, disposal of solid waste, and the handling of asbestos material.
“You’re going to get complaints when you operate a landfill,” said Donald Rea, president of Liberty Waste Services. “There’s no question about that, but we’re working on it.”
And the complaints and violations seem to be working.
Nearly two weeks ago, the company stopped accepting waste from three of its largest customers. By doing so, it has given the company much-needed time to address those needs at the site and filter out some of the problem haulers delivering unidentified waste. The reduction of haulers has meant 1,000 tons less debris hauled to the site per day.
Such a decision was the result of what owners call “response actions,” which are the recent steps Liberty Waste has taken to improve its operations.
One of the more significant violations is the smell of hydrogen sulfide emissions, or the “rotten egg” smell as neighbors describe it, at the site. The EPA recently cited the landfill as a public nuisance based on such emissions.
In response, the company has:
• Stopped removing intermediate cover when performing slope build-out.
• Reduced the size of the work face.
• Performed a soil gas survey to identify potential odor generating areas.
• Applied additional cover to potential odor generating areas.
• Applied lime to potential odor generating sites.
• Implemented a 24-hour odor monitoring plan.
• Implemented biweekly compliance inspections.
Callahan said the company made a significant error in the past when they uncovered a large area of the fill but failed to cover it in a timely manner, consequently releasing odor into the air for long periods of time.
“We’ll take a hit for that,” said Callahan. “It was an ill-advised engineering decision on our part.”
By Tuesday afternoon, the smell was faint. On the west side of the current working face, flagged markers could be seen marking additional areas that could be creating the gas. Callahan said they would be taking samples from those areas in the next week.
“There are a couple areas we’re going to look closely at,” said Callahan.
For the acceptance of waste, the company has begun:
• Retraining on-site personnel.
• Inspecting and rejecting loads containing unacceptable waste.
• Removing any unacceptable materials found in unloading zone and work face.
• Implemented biweekly compliance inspections.
• Educated customers on acceptable waste.
Andy Russell, vice president of Liberty Waste, said the identification of unacceptable waste — like pulverized waste, which is a mixture of solid waste — is an oftentimes deceiving art performed by on-site personnel and the EPA inspectors that arrive once per week.
“Eight people have eight different opinions as to what is unidentifiable waste,” said Russell.
Both Callahan and Rea call the identification process a “subjective one.”
In all cases, a semi-truck load is driven to the property and weighed first. At the same time, an on-site inspector performs a surface inspection before the truck is permitted to enter the working face area. The load is then dumped and “pickers” sift through the trash, removing items like soda pop cans, bags, newsprint.
A bowling ball once caught the eye of an EPA inspector, which led to a notice of violation.
Russell, a former seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, shrugged his broad shoulders.
“We’re permitted to dispose of aluminum here, but one pop can will get us a violation. Go figure.”
Rea said many — if not all — of the incoming loads in the past have first come through transfer stations, which are inspected by the EPA and permitted through or detained.
For asbestos issues, the company has:
• Significantly limited the amount of asbestos containing material accepted at landfill.
• Increased monitoring of unloading area for asbestos containing material.
• Retrained on-site personnel who handle asbestos material.
Last week, Rea said someone called in to report that there was a bag of asbestos on state Route 45. It was later discovered to be a bag of absorbent truck drivers use to clean up spill. While appreciated, Rea said the report is indicative of peoples’ feelings about asbestos, which is only harmful if it is airborne and breathed.
The company was cited $13,000 for its improper handling of the material, and was the reason why the county health department was stripped of its oversight powers at the landfill.
EPA inspectors have noted asbestos bags having burst open and being left on the property without being properly disposed of. Inspectors noted such violations during inspections on Jan. 3 and Feb. 18.
Yet in spite of the violations, Callahan remains adamant about the overall air quality at and surrounding the site.
“There is no airborne asbestos at this (landfill),” said Callahan.
The company also plans to construct a wheel washing system at the site, which will spray mud off trucks as they exit the property, a common complaint among many who live near the landfill.
The company is also planning to upgrade its monitoring of ground water conditions. To do this, additional wells will be dug, providing additional data about the water quality and its direction of flow.
Ultimately, A&L Salvage owners want the general public and government officials to know that they are making a concerted effort to address the problems that have cast the facility in a bad light.
“We don’t want the people to think we don’t care,” said Rea. “With the odor problem, we just want the public to understand that it’s not a problem that can be fixed in one day.”
Rea, Russell and Callahan said anyone is invited to look at the site — even those who live near it and want to understand what’s happening. Callahan said many people call to express their dissatisfaction with the landfill, but in most cases, he said, they have little to no understanding of what goes on.
Nearly a dozen people so far have come to look, said Callahan.
Meanwhile, the landfill continues to wait on news regarding their 2007 operating license, which is currently in review with the EPA. The company also has applied for an additional 100 acres of landfill development.
The Morning Journal
LISBON - A&L Salvage landfill owners and operators are taking significant steps in reducing those factors leading to operational violations that have recently plagued its reputation.
Stephen Callahan, director of operations for Liberty Waste Services in Pittsburgh, said the company feels the pressure from surrounding residents to improve conditions at the 42-acre site off state Route 45.
Speaking to the Morning Journal on Tuesday at the dump site, Callahan and owners admit that they have made some operating mistakes, but they’re now on the path to correcting the issues.
Among those issues fueling complaints from neighbors and drawing violation notices and fines from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) include a persistent smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, disposal of solid waste, and the handling of asbestos material.
“You’re going to get complaints when you operate a landfill,” said Donald Rea, president of Liberty Waste Services. “There’s no question about that, but we’re working on it.”
And the complaints and violations seem to be working.
Nearly two weeks ago, the company stopped accepting waste from three of its largest customers. By doing so, it has given the company much-needed time to address those needs at the site and filter out some of the problem haulers delivering unidentified waste. The reduction of haulers has meant 1,000 tons less debris hauled to the site per day.
Such a decision was the result of what owners call “response actions,” which are the recent steps Liberty Waste has taken to improve its operations.
One of the more significant violations is the smell of hydrogen sulfide emissions, or the “rotten egg” smell as neighbors describe it, at the site. The EPA recently cited the landfill as a public nuisance based on such emissions.
In response, the company has:
• Stopped removing intermediate cover when performing slope build-out.
• Reduced the size of the work face.
• Performed a soil gas survey to identify potential odor generating areas.
• Applied additional cover to potential odor generating areas.
• Applied lime to potential odor generating sites.
• Implemented a 24-hour odor monitoring plan.
• Implemented biweekly compliance inspections.
Callahan said the company made a significant error in the past when they uncovered a large area of the fill but failed to cover it in a timely manner, consequently releasing odor into the air for long periods of time.
“We’ll take a hit for that,” said Callahan. “It was an ill-advised engineering decision on our part.”
By Tuesday afternoon, the smell was faint. On the west side of the current working face, flagged markers could be seen marking additional areas that could be creating the gas. Callahan said they would be taking samples from those areas in the next week.
“There are a couple areas we’re going to look closely at,” said Callahan.
For the acceptance of waste, the company has begun:
• Retraining on-site personnel.
• Inspecting and rejecting loads containing unacceptable waste.
• Removing any unacceptable materials found in unloading zone and work face.
• Implemented biweekly compliance inspections.
• Educated customers on acceptable waste.
Andy Russell, vice president of Liberty Waste, said the identification of unacceptable waste — like pulverized waste, which is a mixture of solid waste — is an oftentimes deceiving art performed by on-site personnel and the EPA inspectors that arrive once per week.
“Eight people have eight different opinions as to what is unidentifiable waste,” said Russell.
Both Callahan and Rea call the identification process a “subjective one.”
In all cases, a semi-truck load is driven to the property and weighed first. At the same time, an on-site inspector performs a surface inspection before the truck is permitted to enter the working face area. The load is then dumped and “pickers” sift through the trash, removing items like soda pop cans, bags, newsprint.
A bowling ball once caught the eye of an EPA inspector, which led to a notice of violation.
Russell, a former seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, shrugged his broad shoulders.
“We’re permitted to dispose of aluminum here, but one pop can will get us a violation. Go figure.”
Rea said many — if not all — of the incoming loads in the past have first come through transfer stations, which are inspected by the EPA and permitted through or detained.
For asbestos issues, the company has:
• Significantly limited the amount of asbestos containing material accepted at landfill.
• Increased monitoring of unloading area for asbestos containing material.
• Retrained on-site personnel who handle asbestos material.
Last week, Rea said someone called in to report that there was a bag of asbestos on state Route 45. It was later discovered to be a bag of absorbent truck drivers use to clean up spill. While appreciated, Rea said the report is indicative of peoples’ feelings about asbestos, which is only harmful if it is airborne and breathed.
The company was cited $13,000 for its improper handling of the material, and was the reason why the county health department was stripped of its oversight powers at the landfill.
EPA inspectors have noted asbestos bags having burst open and being left on the property without being properly disposed of. Inspectors noted such violations during inspections on Jan. 3 and Feb. 18.
Yet in spite of the violations, Callahan remains adamant about the overall air quality at and surrounding the site.
“There is no airborne asbestos at this (landfill),” said Callahan.
The company also plans to construct a wheel washing system at the site, which will spray mud off trucks as they exit the property, a common complaint among many who live near the landfill.
The company is also planning to upgrade its monitoring of ground water conditions. To do this, additional wells will be dug, providing additional data about the water quality and its direction of flow.
Ultimately, A&L Salvage owners want the general public and government officials to know that they are making a concerted effort to address the problems that have cast the facility in a bad light.
“We don’t want the people to think we don’t care,” said Rea. “With the odor problem, we just want the public to understand that it’s not a problem that can be fixed in one day.”
Rea, Russell and Callahan said anyone is invited to look at the site — even those who live near it and want to understand what’s happening. Callahan said many people call to express their dissatisfaction with the landfill, but in most cases, he said, they have little to no understanding of what goes on.
Nearly a dozen people so far have come to look, said Callahan.
Meanwhile, the landfill continues to wait on news regarding their 2007 operating license, which is currently in review with the EPA. The company also has applied for an additional 100 acres of landfill development.
