EPA Agrees to Play Active Role in Harrelson Landfill Order

.

The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed tohelp facilitate  the effective closure of a private landfill that has long been a source of complaints by Shreveport residents concerned about the smoke and fumes spewed by the underground fires that have burned at the site for years.

In an effort to continue to explore options to address issuesresulting from continued fires and other activities at the landfill operated by Harrelson Materials Management, Inc., Mayor Cedric Glover convened a meeting with representatives from EPA Region 6, the State Fire Marshal, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Councilwoman Rose McCulloch, Parish CommissionerLyndon Johnson and representatives from various city departments.

Mayor Glover laid out the city’s concerns with the gaps in the fire mitigation plan approved by LDEQ and asked the EPA to inject itself in the process to help develop a more definitive plan and timeline for extinguishing the fires and closing the landfill as well as the rock crushing and agricultural waste operations.

Although the landfill is regulated by the state, the federal government has the authority to be engaged in this matter due to issues involving air quality and the potentialthat unauthorized  materials are being disposed of at the site. ``When state government fails to lead and protect its citizens, it becomes incumbent upon those of us who are affected and impacted to reach out and ask that the Federal Government, in this case the EPA, step in where state level officials have failed,’’ Mayor Glover said. ``At this point, that’s what we’re doing with the EPA.’’

Representing the EPA at the meeting was Sam Coleman, deputy regional administrator, and Eric Adidas, an environmental scientist.

 ``In the past, we haven’t always been able to get everyone in the same room to document circumstances and to form a plan that works,’’ Coleman said. ``I believe we’ll be able to have success if we can show people what an effective mitigation plan looks like and empower people through knowledge.’’

Coleman said the EPA would:

``It’s important to stress that this action was not meant to delay in any way the efforts to ultimately put out the fire and close the landfill,’’ Mayor Glover said. ``But at the time we filed it, we had no other recourse in which to state our case and make sure our concerns would be addressed.To be clear, the plan that was laid out and accepted by LDEQ was wholly ineffective and inadequate to put out the fire at the Harrelson landfill. And, in fact, it served to function as an open-ended opportunity for Harrelson to continue to profit and pollute from his landfill’s rock crushing and agricultural waste processing operation.’’

The state has ordered Harrelson to extinguish the fire. However, that order places no limit on how long that will actually take but said Harrelson has to start the process within 180 days. The landfill does not have to close until the fire is extinguished.

Harrelson is operating its rock crushing business at the same site without the proper approvals in place and the city is requesting the federal government to provide air emissions monitoring to ensure the health and safety of residents in the area.

Shreveport Fire Department officials have identified several deficiencies with the company’s plan to extinguish the fires and monitor air quality. Some of thosedeficiencies include  Harrelson’s lack of manpower and expertise to extinguish a subterranean fire; the consultants hired by Harrelson to oversee implementation of the plan have no expertise battling subterranean fires; and no apparent planto provide public notice if elevated levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide or other potentially toxic gases are discovered.

``The lack of transparency surrounding this whole operation has allowed Harrelson to operate in the manner that it has for years,’’ Mayor Glover said. ``What we need to do now is to ensure an honest narrative that details just how it is we go about putting the fire out immediately,closing the landfill and restoring the site to its previous state without placing any additional financial burden on the citizens of Shreveport.’’