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Moraine is seeking to have solid waste deliveries in Montgomery County suspended at a Dayton landfill officials say is the source of odors in nearby suburbs.
Moraine City Manager David Hicks said he plans to ask the Montgomery County Solid Waste Advisory Committee to stop taking waste at the Stony Hollow Landfill in Dayton until the odor issue there is resolved.
Kettering and West Carrollton residents have complained about the odor, which has drawn criticism from Jefferson Twp. and Moraine residents since April, officials have said.
Discussions with officials at the Gettysburg Avenue facility owned by Waste Management and regulatory agencies both locally and at the state level have done little to address the problem, Hicks said.
“We need to get some assurances from Waste Management, Stony Hollow and the EPA that there is a corrected measure they’ve taken (that) will work,” he said. “So far, the measures they’ve attempted haven’t worked.”
The odors, according to Moraine, have generated more than 170 complaints on the city’s website from early June through Oct. 21. Fifty-five of those complaints were lodged after Sept. 1, according to the city.
Kettering has received a handful of complaints, according to its city manager’s office, while West Carrollton has fielded some as well, including one Monday, said Erika Mattingly, city public relations coordinator.
“We have so many residents that border Moraine,” she said.
Hicks said he has talked with several officials about halting solid waste deliveries at Stony Hollow and plans to address the issue when the advisory committee meets Nov. 16.
County Director of Environmental Services Pat Turnbull said he is aware of Hicks’ concerns but has yet to see a written request.
Turnbull said he is not aware of the committee receiving a similar request in his five years working with it. But he noted, “obviously, such a decision is a large one and operational considerations would have to be examined.
“And that’s something that the staff is considering currently” as a result of Turnbull’s talks with Hicks.
Stony Hollow is “engaged in construction projects to manage excess gas production and address increased odors created by accelerated decomposition at the landfill,” according to Kathy Trent, public affairs director for Waste Management.
“Our goal is to control and contain landfill odors on site,” she added. “We have already installed over 50 new landfill gas collection wells, added a second flare that destroys excess landfill gas and upgraded and improved many sumps and liquid collection lines on site.”
The company is not disposing of waste in the portion of the landfill where “the odors are originating due to the increased rate of waste decomposition.
“We are working to address potential odor-causing issues in that section of the landfill,” according to Trent. “Waste is being disposed of in other sections of the landfill, and we do not anticipate any concerns resulting from normal operations in these other sections of the facility.”
Attempts to reach the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Monday were unsuccessful.
The odor problem prompted some Moraine residents to address their city’s council about it last month. One resident said the stench made him gasp for air while another said it forced their family indoors.
Hicks said a conversation he had with Stony Hollow representatives came during a week when the odor was particularly bad.
“And they told me odors were going to be worse the following week,” he said. “And I said ‘that can’t happen.’ They can’t keep being worse all of the time.
“They have to find a way to relieve this,” Hicks said. “Residents should not have to deal with this indefinitely. There has to be a fix for it.”
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