The Jefferson Parish Landfill has a history of problems containing its noxious odors, according to public records maintained by the La. Department of Environmental Quality, the state agency responsible for regulating landfills.
While parish leaders announced the formation of a “strike team” of agencies tasked with rooting out the source of the smell Monday, LaDEQ records indicate the landfill has had a well-documented problem with odors dating back more than a decade.
Complaints about similar odors emanating from the parish-owned landfill began trickling into LaDEQ in 2008. Most of those initial complaints were made by residents in nearby Waggaman.
After the 2008 complaints, then-Parish President Aaron Broussard wrote a letter to LaDEQ notifying state regulators that the parish landfill, then under the management of private contractor Waste Management, had problems getting the gas out of the landfill through its wells.
The parish captures gas released from leachate, the liquid that seeps out of solid waste and sludge that are dumped at the landfill. Some of that leachate comes from the parish wastewater treatment plant, but until Monday, the parish was collecting other sources of industrial waste.
“If the leachate system is not properly maintained, that substance obstructs their ability to capture and move the gas out of the landfill,” Current Parish President Mike Yenni said Monday.
Broussard’s letter indicates the landfill was experiencing similar problems back then.
But the landfill, currently operated by contractor IESI, has also been accused of not properly covering up the waste with dirt, a step landfills take to cut down on noxious odors.
In 2013, LaDEQ issued a compliance order to the parish landfill, also for failing to cover up the waste, among other things, such as dumping trash in standing water.
That compliance order resulted in a consent agreement with LaDEQ that fined the parish $5,700 and forced them to make modifications to their operations.
But in April of this year, the burnt-chemical smell started making its way to the East bank, leading dozens of residents in Harahan and River Ridge to file complaints with LaDEQ. Even the parish council member from that area, Paul Johnson, reported being woken up in the middle of night from the odor.
At the time, Johnson speculated the stench originated from West bank chemical plants.
But LaDEQ found the parish landfill was once again to blame, issuing another compliance order to the parish.
“The compliance order demands that the parish outline the incident, what the problems are the facility and report back what their plans are to correct those problems,” said Mike Algero, a representative of LaDEQ.
Jefferson Parish was supposed to respond within 30 days, but has asked for an extension of time to complete their plan.
Meantime, residents continue to complain about the smell, which tends to linger on days with high humidity.
Already in July, a River Ridge resident complained about at least one incident to LaDEQ.
Since April, an activist group of residents in Harahan/River Ridge has gathered more than 1,800 complaints about the stench and parish leaders said Monday it could take up to 6 months for them to smell any real relief.