“Where the landfill is located, there is nothing but farms out there,” Mayor Russell said. “It’s just farms. There are a few small mom and pop businesses, but otherwise it’s just farms. There is a school that is two miles away, and then we are about three and a half miles away from Highway 412. But there is no other businesses that I’m aware of that have any chemicals coming out of it except for Eco Vista.” Several other residents of Tontitown and Rep. Lundstrum all told Arkansas Times that only houses, farms, and a few small businesses exist by the landfill. They view the landfill as the only thing in the area that could be producing the pollution.
The assertion in Waste Management’s statement that “The Arkansas Department of Health … found that the sampling results do not support a conclusion that the Eco-Vista facility is the source of the detected compounds” is misleading.
The Arkansas Department of Health report on the air quality monitoring around the landfill concluded, “ADH cannot conclusively determine the source of these contaminants. However, it is possible that local businesses or other activities associated with the Eco Vista Landfill site are contributing to these levels. As a result, we recommend obtaining more comprehensive air quality data.”
The July test that revealed the presence of pollutants in the air does not square with results from 13 inspections between 2010 and 2024, which showed the landfill met requirements to keep its air quality permit required by ADEQ.
Only one incident in 2010 warranted a fine of $2,178 after the landfill did not meet ADEQ testing standards when conducting air monitoring.
But residents contend that the lack of violations simply shows ADEQ regulators were not conducting ambient air quality testing regularly.
In a 2022 investigation by KNWA, an ADEQ representative said they don’t do ambient testing regularly, and are not legally required to.
Tontitown residents and activists are convinced that ADEQ’s response to the July report has been insufficient.
And Lundstrum, a Republican who represents most of Tontitown and some of Springdale, said ADEQ’s response to the July testing results is not acceptable. She has been in the state Legislature for 10 years, and said complaints have only become more frequent and the situation has become worse.
“I’m not out to make the landfill the ‘evil landfill’ but there are problems and we need to address them. Testing needs to get done, fines need to happen in areas where that is appropriate. We’ve got some issues, and we’ve had issues for years,” Lundstrum said. “I am concerned, a lot of citizens are concerned, and they need to be heard.”
Lundstrum said a better system for waste disposal in Northwest Arkansas would be a priority of hers in the Legislature next year.
“Moving forward, we need to do our due diligence by planning ahead where we go with our trash. We don’t need to be kicking the can down the road,” Lundstrum said. “We need to open a facility that is better, cleaner, and does a better job with management of our waste. We need to start now. We can’t be continually saying that it’s not an issue. And I’m not saying we need a new landfill, maybe there is new technology that can do a better job. There are some options that need to be explored and explored quickly.”
Moving Forward
Even as Tontitown residents continue to worry about breathing polluted air, the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission continues to approve expansions for Eco Vista.
In a June 28 meeting the commission voted to allow Eco Vista to proceed with a 10-acre expansion. The city of Tontitown is appealing the decision in Washington County Circuit Court.
ADEQ sent this statement to Arkansas Times in response to a request to comment about how they will proceed.
“Following ADH’s analysis, the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (E&E), Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) initiated research to determine what resources would be necessary to conduct such testing. The Department’s initial research suggests that further testing will result in a substantial cost for E&E. To date, E&E has incurred approximately $107,000.00 of costs in Tontitown air testing. E&E is in the process of exploring options and identifying funds available to conduct additional testing.”
ADEQ has yet to approve more air pollution testing in the area, citing prohibitive costs.
Tontitown residents contend ADEQ has a financial interest in maintaining the landfill.
Like other landfills in Arkansas, EcoVista owes the Department of Environmental Quality fees of 25 cents for each un-compacted cubic yard of solid waste and 45 cents for each compacted cubic yard of solid waste. If landfills operate on a weight basis, they owe a landfill disposal fee of $1.50 to ADEQ for every ton of solid waste received at the landfill.
Public records obtained by Arkansas Times showed that between the beginning of 2019 and end of 2023, EcoVista contributed $7.5 million in funding to the Department of Environmental Quality.
Mayor Russell is convinced that until the issue is elevated to state or national attention, a solution won’t be found.
“We have to have somewhere for our trash to go, but we have to have something safer for our citizens,” Mayor Russell said.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66f58659c74e4a78ba5eda6ebcd65b1c&url=https%3A%2F%2Farktimes.com%2Farkansas-blog%2F2024%2F09%2F26%2Fin-growing-northwest-arkansas-some-tontitown-residents-fear-the-areas-lone-landfill-poses-health-risks&c=7909784656048746533&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-26 05:01:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
