City of Shreveport Seeking Federal Help to Close Harrelson Landfill

Mayor Cedric Glover says Shreveport will seek federal assistance in its ongoing fight to permanently close the Harrelson Landfill, which has blanketed a Shreveport neighborhood with smoke and fumes for years.

We've got more info in a news release from the mayor's office:

About 50 citizens attended a public meeting sponsored by Mayor Glover to address concerns about the state’s latest attempt to direct Harrelson Materials Management, Inc., to put out the underground fires that have spewed smoke and flames for years from its Russell Road location.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality last month ordered Harrelson to extinguish the fire. However, that order placed no limit on how long that would actually take, but said Harrelson had to start the process within 180 days. The landfill does not have to close until the fire is extinguished. Mayor Glover, fire department officials and the Louisiana Fire Marshal all pointed out major flaws in the company’s state-approved fire mitigation plan but those observations were initially ignored.

The continued pressure from the Mayor and MLK community advocates, however, paid dividends today when LDEQ issued a directive to Michael Harrelson to let him know that his company has not allocated sufficient personnel, resources and equipment to properly implement the approved plan. The amended declaration orders HMM to hire a third party firm to implement the plan.

Mayor Glover said he and his staff will meet in Shreveport next week with Environmental Protection Agency representatives from its Region VI office in Dallas. The purpose of that meeting is to solicit the EPA’s expertise and authority to help close the landfill sooner, rather than later.

"When you end up with government officials failing to take action at the local and state levels, then at that point, you reach out to the Federal level,’’ Glover said. "But my goal is not to find a way for Harrelson to close the landfill in two months, or six months or another year. My goal is to get it closed right now.’’

The city is also exploring legal options to close the landfill and Mayor Glover is encouraging residents to provide information on any health-related issues they believe might have resulted from extended exposure to the landfill.