The Covington County landfill could be ordered pay a fine in the event of multiple environmental violations.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has recommended that Ashberry Landfill, located near Opp, be required to pay an amount of $151,950 in civil penalties for the allegations of violations. Ashberry Landfill, LLC operates the Ashberry C/D Landfill and Tire Recycling Facility that processes tires, as well as demolition and construction waste.
The infractions listed within the ADEM order include inability to maintain proper the cover of the landfill and failure to contain waste and compact waste in a timely manner, failure to maintain 4:1 slopes, and failure to run the facility in accordance with the rules required in the permit and waste disposal outside of a cell that is certified. Should the ADEM order is approved, Ashberry Landfill would be ordered to rectify all violations within a specified period of time and be in compliance to ADEM’s Solid Waste Disposal regulations.
Ashberry first obtained the permit for solid waste disposal in 2003. A permit to process scrap tires was issued in the year 2010. The facility has been issued multiple violation notices throughout the years, but this is the first time that ADEM has imposed a fine on the company. The ADEM order contains an corrective action plan, which contains a timeline for correcting environmental violations.
Residents have expressed their displeasure about the garbage dump and have cited mountains of un-covered tires as well as heavy mosquitoes.
The violations and the fine on Ashberry Landfill come after a subterranean fire that erupted at another Alabama landfill located east of Birmingham which caused an environmental emergency for residents in the region.
ADEM’s notice was issued on December. 16 and there’s 30 days to comment. The order can be found at http://adem.alabama.gov/compInfo/adminOrders.cnt.
The article Covington County landfill faces penalties for violating the law was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
