GFL-operated Georgia landfill battles court injunction

Dive Brief:

ETC of Georgia, LLC (a subsidiary of Waste Industries, owned by GFL Environmental) filed a motion last month with the Georgia Court of Appeals asking for a stay on a trial court's 90-day preliminary injunction. The finding requires landfill operator Waste Industries to cap the working face of the facility with six inches of soil and stop accepting sludge from nearby wastewater treatment plants.
A district court had sided with Polk County officials and residents complaining of odors, buzzards and fugitive debris at the 122-acre Grady Road Landfill. ETC claimed in a May filing the county was losing $26,000 a month on tipping fees as a result of the court order, according to Marietta Daily Journal.
In a separate case against the landfill, Polk County could also pursue nearly $885,000 in uncollected Saturday dumping fees and unauthorized fuel surcharges, according to the Associated Press.

Dive Insight:

Polk County made the case that Grady Road Landfill constitutes a public nuisance.

In addition to the soil cap and diverted sludge disposal, Judge Adele Grubbs's preliminary injunction requires the facility operators to investigate and document odor complaints. It also grants the county round-the-clock access to the landfill property without prior approval.

The company estimates it will cost more than $282,000 a month to comply with the order.

In its stay motion, ETC argued that because the landfill remains in compliance with its operating agreement with Polk County and abides by Georgia Environmental Protection Division regulations, the nuisance claim is unlawful. The company also noted that daily soil caps could cause dangerous methane gas buildup and leachate breakouts.

ETC highlighted its efforts to address odor and bird complaints in 2018. Landfill managers added air cannons to the facility, installed electronic strips at neighboring properties and started using spray-on foams to supplement tarps as its usual daily cover.

Representatives with Waste Industries did not respond to an interview request by the time of publication. The company took over operation of Grady Road Landfill from Polk County in 2002. The facility accepts municipal waste, construction and demolition debris, asbestos, and nonhazardous permitted waste from 10 Georgia counties and two counties in Alabama.