Dive Brief:
- The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will not make a determination about the status of a fire burning at the Harrelson landfill in Shreveport, LA.
- The department had previously released a statement that the underground fire at the construction and debris site was extinguished, only to retract the statement hours later.
- According to Greg Langley, the DEQ press secretary, the statement was retracted because, “There were times in the past that we thought it was out and it wasn’t.”
Dive Insight:
A fire has been burning underground since 2008 at the landfill, prompting regulators to issue an administrative order against the site in June 2014. In July, environmental officials ordered the landfill to close indefinitely.
In September, the DEQ took over the site after it revoked the site owner's authority after determining that Michael Harrison, the owner, failed to satisfy the conditions outlined in the fire mitigation plan.
The Fire Marshall and DEQ continue to keep an eye on the site, looking for hot spots and other places that have the potential to ignite. The DEQ wants to be “on the same page” as the Fire Marshall before making a final determination. Infrared analysis is being used to monitor the area.
