EPA begins process of cleaning Layer Park

$16,000 civil penalty related to odor issues at Stony Hollow.

The replacement of more than 6,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil at the Miami Twp. site is expected to take about two months.

The Ohio EPA has issued a $16,000 fine to a Dayton landfill as one of several orders the site must comply with stemming from odor complaints from several surrounding communities in the past year.

The civil penalty, documents show, is among 19 orders the Stony Hollow Landfill must follow in seeking to resolve odor issues that have led to hundreds of complaints from Trotwood to Miami Twp. and several cities in between since April 2016.

The fine stems from the landfill’s violation of its air permit, according to the Ohio EPA.

“While it’s most important that (Stony Hollow) spends its money and time addressing the odor issues, Ohio EPA believes a civil penalty is justified,” according to agency spokeswoman Dina Pierce.

If Stony Hollow “is in breach and/or violation of these orders, Ohio EPA retains the right to terminate these orders, perform any additional investigation, conduct any work to address to address conditions at the facility, and/ or enforce the terms of these orders,” according to the May 3 document signed by Director Craig Butler.

Operations at the Waste Management Inc.-owned landfill have also led to the city of Dayton barring Stony Hollow from discharging waste into its sewer system, a class-action lawsuit and Montgomery County investigating alternative sites for solid waste disposal.

The landfill on South Gettysburg Avenue plans to comply with the agency’s guidelines, according to Waste Management officials.

“We agree with these orders and will continue to work closely with the Ohio EPA and other regulators to make sure Stony Hollow Landfill completes all action items on schedule and adheres to the standards outlined in the plan,” Waste Management Senior Public Affairs Manager Kathy Trent said via email.

Aside from the fine, the orders require Stony Hollow to:

- Meet with the public within 40 days to educate the community on any approved methods used to detect odors.

-Continue odor surveys at the locations identified.

-Install and operate odor controls on designated tanks.

-Continue to immediately notify the proper Ohio EPA, city of Dayton and other local government officials

of communities potentially impacted, of any facility malfunction, power outage or event that may cause the migration of nuisance odors beyond the landfill property.

- Conduct ambient air monitoring to meet Ohio EPA requirements.

-Reimburse RAPCA for the reasonable costs to conduct ambient air monitoring at two locations off-site of the landfill.

- Install landfill gas extraction wells.

The deadlines for the orders vary. Some must be enacted immediately while others have must be completed within 30 to 45 days and others are continuous, records show.

Moraine City Manager David Hicks said he is hopeful the orders will help resolve the issue, but generally, “the current system is being continued.”

Moraine has fielded most of the odor complaints about the landfill, is the hometown of the

person who filed a class-action lawsuit and it was Hicks who asked the county to stop sending it solid waste to Stony Hollow until the odor issue is resolved.

A study showed that option was too costly.

Hicks said he met Butler and OEPA staffers at Stony Hollow last week and has seen the latest EPA orders.

“... my impression from our conversation with (Waste Management) and the OEPA is that generally , the current system is being continued; monitor for changes and address any that arise,” he noted.

But Trent said additional gas wells will help address the problem.

“More gas wells mean more control over landfill gases, which can cause odors if not contained in wells or under the vacuum,” she said in an email. “This work will begin in May and will be completed by early July.”