This article appeared on AL.com in March of 2023
For more than three months, a fire burned mostly underground at a landfill wedged into a ravine about 15 miles northeast of Birmingham.
The landfill was supposed to accept only green waste, such as trees or vegetation, yet numerous inspections by Alabama regulators showed unauthorized material such as scrap tires, construction waste, electronics and appliances.
Here is a complete timeline of events at the Environmental Landfill, from the first complaint filed with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in 2013 up through when the federal government stepped in to smother the blaze in 2023.
Jan. 9, 2013 – ADEM receives complaint alleging that the site run by Environmental Landfill, Inc., is being operated as an unauthorized dump.
Feb. 26, 2013 – ADEM inspects the site and finds only “multiple piles of tree cuttings and vegetative debris.” Inspector notes that no action will be taken.
Nov. 1, 2013 – ADEM receives second complaint.
Nov. 21, 2013 – ADEM inspects again, this time finding construction and demolition waste, as well as scrap tires and scrap tire materials “dumped and partially covered on the rear of the property.”
ADEM inspector notes that unauthorized material “may have been hidden from view during [the] prior inspection” and that “[t]he site appears to be a potential fire hazard due to the presence of a smoldering area not far from regulated waste.”
ADEM issues a “Notice of Violation” to Scott Russell, then the owner of the property and a principal shareholder of ELI. The department cites him for operating an unauthorized dump, writing “[t]he disposal site does not meet the minimum requirements for a landfill unit, has not obtained a landfill permit from the department, and therefore is an unauthorized dump.”
Dec. 5, 2013 – Amy Rich, sister of Scott Russell, responds to ADEM via email with receipts showing that approximately 2.24 tons of improper material had been removed from the property.
Dec. 26, 2013 – Rich tells ADEM that the landfill has taken steps to prevent unauthorized dumping, including installing a security camera and a locked ticket box.
Jan. 2014 – ADEM responds that it considers the unauthorized dump to be closed.
June 27, 2014 – ADEM receives complaint alleging the landfill is accepting scrap tires, scrap metal and “oil in the dirt.”
Sept. 8, 2014 – ADEM inspects the site, finding unauthorized materials, including “treated power poles, household trash, scrap tires, etc.” No further action is documented by ADEM after this inspection.
May 25, 2017 – ADEM receives fourth complaint.
July 31, 2017 –ADEM again inspects, finding construction and demolition waste, household waste, appliances, scrap tires and scrap tire materials, electronics, scrap metal, and auto parts. The inspector notes that petroleum has contaminated the soil.
ADEM states that the site represents a fire hazard, due to the “lack of availability of adequate water, location/composition of tire piles.” The department issues another notice of violation, ordering Russell to submit a clean-up plan for the site within 30 days.
Dec. 14, 2017 – ADEM sends certified letter to Russell stating that he has not responded to the previous notice of violations and to immediately submit a plan.
Jan. 9, 2018 – Carol Russell responds to ADEM, stating that the landfill installed new signs to show what is acceptable and unacceptable waste, updated its security cameras and “reminded all of our customers that under no circumstances are they be allowed to bring in any type of unacceptable materials.”
Russell provides photos and receipts showing that in September the Environmental Landfill, Inc. sent 6.18 tons of unauthorized material to an appropriate landfill.
March 13, 2018 – ADEM conducts a follow-up inspection, finding construction and demolition waste, household waste, appliances, and scrap tires and scrap tire materials.
ADEM investigator notes “[t]he operators of the site have attempted to hide waste previously dumped by placing tree cutting waste along the access road and on top of the dump areas.”
Also on March 13, ADEM receives a complaint alleging that the landfill burned waste the night before. The inspection finds no evidence of a burn site.
April 6, 2018 – ADEM conducts another follow-up inspection, noting that the waste found in the previous inspection remained on the site.
No further ADEM action is documented for more than a year.
April 11, 2019 – ADEM again inspects the site, finding construction/demolition waste and abandoned vehicles.
Aug. 21, 2019 – Another ADEM inspection at the site finds construction/demolition waste, appliances, household waste and scrap tires.
The inspector notes that he met with representatives of the landfill “to view the property and identify areas of concern that had been observed during previous inspections.”
After this meeting, ELI begins removing large amounts of waste from its disposal area and sending it to other landfills. The receipts for these transfers are sent to ADEM in December 2021.
Sept. 17, 2019 - ELI sends 10.47 tons of waste to another landfill.
Dec. 27, 2019 - ELI sends 11.51 tons of waste to the Star Ridge Landfill, nearby in Moody.
Feb. 6, 2020 - ELI sends 3.94 tons of waste to the Star Ridge Landfill.
Dec. 2, 2020 – ADEM inspects the site, finding construction and demolition waste, household waste, appliances and scrap tires. The inspector again notes that the site is a fire hazard.
Jan. 4, 2021 – ELI sends 12.93 tons of waste to the Star Ridge Landfill.
March 29, 2021 – ELI sends 8.13 tons of waste to the Star Ridge Landfill.
Oct. 6, 2021 – A landfill representative emails before-and-after photos to ADEM, showing an area where improper waste, including creosote-coated utility poles and broken pallets, has been cleared and sent to appropriate landfills. The email includes a receipt from the Star Ridge Landfill.
August 10, 2022 – ADEM inspects the site, finding “very little” unauthorized construction waste. However, the landfill operator tells the ADEM inspector that there is still improper material buried throughout the property and that he plans to remove it within the next 18 months.
Nov. 25, 2022 –The fire starts. The Moody Fire Department responds to the first call reporting the fire on Black Friday around 7:45 a.m. Though the fire is in unincorporated St. Clair County, the Moody department is the nearest fire agency.
Moody Fire Department describes the burning waste pile as up to 25 acres in size, comprised of many layers of dead and decaying trees and other matter loosely covered with dirt. The waste pile is estimated to be 100-150 feet deep in some places.
Nov. to Dec. 2022 – The Moody Fire Department and Alabama Forestry Commission work to contain the fire by clearing the land around the burning pile of refuse. Nearby residents begin complaining of breathing ailments due to the smoke, complaints which will continue for several weeks.
Agencies responding to the fire are in a state of confusion about who is responsible for making decisions about how to put out the fire and who should pay the costs.
Dec. 21, 2022 – Nearby residents who say they are experiencing health problems from the smoke file a class-action lawsuit against the owners and operators of the landfill.
Dec. 22, 2022 – ADEM issues a statement saying the Moody Fire Department is “acting as the lead responder.” ADEM also says nearby residents may wish to limit their time outdoors, consider purchasing high-efficiency air filters and seal off air gaps in their homes.
Dec. 29, 2022 – ADEM says they are acting only in an advisory capacity and that it will be up to the St. Clair County Commission to hire a contractor to put out the fire.
Jan. 3, 2023 – The St. Clair County Commission holds an emergency meeting and passes a resolution declaring “the existence of emergency conditions.” The county urges Gov. Kay Ivey to declare a state of emergency and asks the state or federal government for help.
Also on Jan. 3, the Trussville City School System announces it will limit students’ outdoor activities.
Jan. 6, 2023 – ADEM Director Lance LeFleur tells AL.com his agency has gone “above and beyond” what they are legally required to do in responding to the blaze. LeFleur states that ADEM has “no reason to believe” that anything other than wood or natural products are burning in the fire.
Jan. 10, 2023 – Confusion continues about who is in charge of putting out the landfill fire. During a regular St. Clair County Commission meeting, officials say they are reviewing proposals from six different contractors to put out the fire, but that they believe the state and Gov. Kay Ivey will make the ultimate decision.
Jan. 18, 2023 – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declares a state of emergency and requests EPA assistance in putting out the fire.
Jan. 19, 2023 – An EPA emergency response team arrives to take over operations at the fire site. The EPA says that it assumed responsibility for the fire after air samples taken in the first week of January showed high levels of four potentially hazardous chemicals.
Jan. 20, 2023 –The EPA begins its plan to put out the fire by smothering it with dirt and approves a budget ceiling of $2.8 million for the project. The agency also sets up additional air monitors at the fire site and nearby homes.
Jan. 27, 2023 – The EPA reports that air quality has improved since the agency began smothering the blaze with truckloads of dirt. An ADEM observer reports that EPA is bringing in about 8 dump trucks of dirt per hour.
Jan. 30, 2023 – EPA contractor reports it has brought in more than 500 dump truck loads of dirt to the site. ADEM inspector notes that the EPA contractor found scrap tires.
Jan. 31, 2023 – EPA contractor continues to grade the site and add fill dirt to smother the blaze. ADEM notes that unauthorized waste, including dimensional lumber and scrap tires are being set aside for proper disposal.
Feb. 4, 2023 – ADEM officials say water samples taken upstream and downstream of the fire show “no discernible impact.”
Feb. 10, 2023 – EPA estimates half of the site has been graded and covered and that the rest of the operation will take about “three weeks.”
Feb. 15, 2023 – Environmental group Cahaba Riverkeeper publishes water sample results taken just outside the landfill that show massively elevated levels of manmade PFAS chemicals. ADEM Director Lance LeFleur responds that PFAS is widely found in water bodies throughout the state and “[m]easuring the level of PFAS at the Moody fire site serves no purpose.”
Feb. 17, 2023 – The EPA takes down one of its four air monitoring stations due to “better containment of the fire and a reduction in smoke leaving the landfill site.”
Feb. 22, 2023 – The EPA estimates that 55% of the landfill has been graded and covered using 1,454 dump truck loads full of dirt. Contractors begin working on the northern face of the landfill, which includes “a deep ravine and smoldering waste material.”
March 24, 2023 – The EPA has deposited 2,599 truckloads of dirt on the old landfill site. Much of the work is completed, with only isolated, small plumes of smoke escaping from a few “hotspots.” Most of the site has been graded, covered, and planted with grass seed. The EPA expects to hand over the site to state and local authorities in April.
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