Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a $100,000 settlement with Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) Orchard Hills Landfill Inc. in Davis Junc-tion, Illinois. This settlement resolves Raoul’s May 2020 complaint against the landfill for air pollution and failure to collect and control landfill odors.
Since Raoul’s lawsuit was filed in 2020, ADS addressed the alleged viola-tions by making multiple improvements, including no longer accepting construc-tion debris containing drywall fines, which is known to generate hydrogen sulfide gas that causes odors; convert-ing existing wells to improve the capture of landfill gas; and installing additional gas collectors and additional piping to improve landfill gas collection.
“Landfills operating in our state must be properly maintained to limit off-site odors and ensure they are not impact-ing nearby communities,” Raoul said. “I appreciate Advanced Disposal Services’ cooperation to make significant improve-ments to collect and control landfill gas and minimize impact to the surrounding community.”
According to Raoul’s settlement, ADS’ improvements have significantly reduced the overall waste acceptance with a drop in daily volume from about 7,000 tons to 2,500 tons of waste.
Under the settlement, ADS will moni-tor the local area each week for off-site landfill odors using a device to measure the level of an odor, if any. If a detected odor is attributed to the landfill, ADS will investigate the cause of the odor and implement corrective measures such as repairing, replacing or adjusting the gas collection system components.
ADS will also maintain a hotline for residents to call if they smell any land-fill odors. If ADS receives one to five complaints in one week, off-site monitor-ing for the odors will increase to twice a week until resolved. If
ADS receives 6 to 10 complaints, the company will monitor the area every other day until resolved. If ADS receives more than 10 odor complaints in a week, monitoring will occur every day until resolved.
ADS has also agreed to take the following steps in the settlement:
• Pay a $100,000 civil penalty.
• Cease accepting construction debris containing drywall fines.
• Continue to comply with the landfill gas collection and control system moni-toring and maintenance plan.
• Install an enhanced immediate cover system on portions of the landfill.
The Attorney General’s office enforces Illinois’ environmental protection laws. Raoul’s Environmental Enforcement Division, which enforces civil environ-mental laws, has recovered millions of dollars from polluters and required companies to undertake environmental improvement projects in communities impacted by contamination.