Laserfiche WebLink
Fires in existing demolition area- The Landfill first reported a hot spot (fire) in <br />their existing demolition disposal area on the north side of their operation in the <br />spring of 2000. Landfill fires can burn below the surface and, therefore, be difficult <br />to squelch. This fire was smothered with earth and assumed out. A second fire, or <br />possibly a flare up of the same one, sprang up in this demolition area this past <br />summer. The introduction of oxygen due to mining recyclables in the demolition <br />area may be one contributing reason for the fires. The Landfill has been required to <br />install heat sensing probes to get an exact location of these fires to aid in suppressing <br />them. Staff is not recommending adding conditions to the Landfill's Cup or <br />license due to this issue. The existing language is adequate and it is a matter of <br />enforcement. <br /> <br />Litter- Since their last renewal, the Landfill has received a Notice of Violation from <br />the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) regarding daily cover last summer. <br />Daily cover, a minimum bf six inches of soil placed over the days refuse, is required <br />to keep the refuse from blowing away and becoming litter. This was an operational <br />problem that was apparently corrected since. <br /> <br />In addition to the daily cover, the Landfill is required to erect temporary fencing <br />adjacent to active areas to control litter and they are to inspect all trucks leaving the <br />facility to ensure they are free of debris prior to leaving their site. As a last resort to <br />control litter, the Landfill's CUP and license requires that they engage in routine litter <br />removal along Highway 169 for ½ mile on either side of their entrance and from <br />other areas adversely affected a minimum of once per week. <br /> <br />Even with these controls, litter is still the number one complaint received by she city <br />concerning the Landfill. Staff is not recommending additional permit language <br />regarding this issue. Again, it is a matter of enforcement. Staff recently requested <br />that the Elk River Police Department step up patrols in this area and ticket trucks <br />with leaky loads (debris blowing off of them). <br /> <br />Contamination - Controlling contamination from the original unlined cells prior to <br />it leaving the Landfill site is the city's major concern. The active gas venting system <br />installed at the Landfill is apparently doing some good in this regard. City staff will <br />continue to monitor the ~'ituation to discern whether or not this remedial action is <br />adequate. Two specific areas of contamination are of immediate concern. One is in <br />the northeast corner of the Landfill where monitoring wells showed contamination <br />extending close to the Landfill's property line. A change in the gas venting system in <br />this area seems to have brought the contamination in this area under control. <br />Contamination levels in the monitoring wells in this location are now below MPCA's <br />intervention limits. <br /> <br />The second area is on the west side of the Landfill where an apparently isolated <br />plume of contamination is rapidly approaching the Landfill's property boundary. <br />The Landfill is cooperating with staff to aggressively find a solution to neutralizing <br /> <br /> <br />