The operator of a Niagara Falls landfill with a history of odor complaints has agreed to pay $671,000 in fines and curb the amount of methane and other gas pollutants emitted from the site, as part of a proposed settlement reached Tuesday with federal regulators.
Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a proposed consent decree in federal court in Buffalo in connection with a lawsuit against Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill alleging Clean Air Act Violations, including the release of gas pollutants that can cause cancer and other health problems.
The landfill on Niagara Falls Boulevard, a massive mound visible from Interstate 190 near Exit 22, for years has been a source of frustration for residents and local lawmakers who complained of a pervasive foul odor wafting from the site into a bustling commercial area of the Town of Niagara that includes the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls.
Under the proposed settlement, Allied will pay a $671,000 penalty and operate a gas collection and control system to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals, primarily methane, as well as other harmful organic compounds, released into the air, according to a news release Tuesday afternoon from the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.
“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 in a prepared statement. “Today’s agreement will require Allied to control its unlawful methane emissions and holds the company accountable for its violations of the Clean Air Act.”
A phone call to Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill was referred to the corporate offices of parent company Republic Services in Arizona.
“We are glad to have resolved this matter with U.S. EPA,” the company…
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