Leada Gore

Hartselle Enquirer

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has fined Hartselle $6,000 for problems associated with its landfill.

ADEM cited the city for several problems at the landfill including waste not property covered; too large a work area; lack of control on rain runoff; and problems with litter control. ADEM initially issued a $9,000 fine but lowered the amount after city leaders presented evidence some of the problems had been corrected.

“We now have several safeguards in place to prevent such problems from reoccurring,” Mayor Dwight Tankersley said. Tankersley said it’s the first such fine the incurred by the city’s landfill in at least six years.

ADEM’s citation notes the city:

• Failed to apply a minimum of six inches of dirt at the end of each week. The application is required to help control disease, odors, litter and scavenging.

• Failed to confine all waste to as small an area as possible.

• Failed to design, construct and maintain a runoff system to collect and control specific water volumes.

• Failed to spread waste in two feet layers and compact weekly.

• Failed to control litter within the facility.

• Failed to apply for a permit renewal within 180 days prior to the expiration date.

In addition to the fine, the city is required to submit a report detailing its corrections.

Some of those have already occurred, Tankersley said.

Landfill workers now complete a daily log showing coverage work and litter control are completed. The city is also stockpiling dirt at the landfill to use for coverage. This work had already been done by the time ADEM issued the citation, prompting the amount to be lowered at an administrative hearing.