Legal PR: The Simon Law Firm’s Environmental Attorneys Comment on the Rumpke Landfill

NEWS RELEASE

April 5, 2010

Residents air concerns about a possible underground fire and odors at Ohio landfill

ST. LOUIS—More than 100 people attended an April 1 public meeting in Colerain Township set up by environmental regulators and aired their concerns about a possible underground fire and strong odors emanating from the Rumpke landfill in Ohio, The Community Press reports.

Pollution concerns about the facility, located on Hughes Road in Colerain Township, aren’t new. Last fall, gas extraction wells at the landfill registered excessively high heat readings. And on March 19 it was announced that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Rumpke landfill reached a settlement agreement that requires the owner to pay a $98,000 penalty for air pollution violations and follow an action response plan that included such measures as adding clay soil, stabilizing landfill slope, installing additional gas collection devices and enhancing monitoring.

At the April 1 meeting, Paul Ruesch, an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, addressed the underground heat readings, indicating that although it was unclear whether they indicated an underground fire or a “reaction,” the dynamic was the same.

A community activist group, Property Owners Want Equal Rights, attended the meeting. Nancy Lindemood, POWER’s founder, called for an analysis and reporting of air sample results and independent monitoring of well temperatures, as well as monitoring of air, gas and groundwater.

Environmental lawyer Todd Hageman explains, “When a landfill fails to apply the proper slope cover, air can enter the body of the landfill which fuels waste combustion. The fire then creates voids and vents in the landfill which further magnify the production and release of landfill gas like hydrogen sulfide. Underground fires are often a problem for mismanaged landfills.”

The Simon Law Firm is a St. Louis-based firm that represents people who have lost the use and enjoyment of their property or been hurt as a result of environmental and landfill hazards. The firm has represented more than 400 individual clients in claims arising from the negligent operation of construction and demolition landfills. For more information, contact Todd Hageman by calling 877-767-3108 or e-mailing THageman@simonlawpc.com.

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