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Landfill Proposed for St. Gabriel Area |
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St. Gabriel Redevelopment, LLC has applied for permits from LDEQ to operate a construction and demolition debris (C&D) landfill between Saint Gabriel and Carville. The permits would allow a 65 foot tall pile of debris right next to Bayou Braud an important part of the Spanish Lake basin.
The application asks for a permit to
allow the C&D waste to be piled to a height of 65 feet and to allow
100 trucks of waste to be brought to the landfill every day.
The north boundary of the property is formed by Community Canal which
flows into Bayou Braud. The south boundary is formed by Bayou Braud
which flows into Spanish Lake and Alligator Bayou. The potential for
toxic materials to leach from the debris into the Spanish Lake Basin is
a concern.
Construction and Demolition Landfill Wastewater
St. Gabriel Redevelopment submitted a LPDES Permit Notice of Intent for
a C and D Debris Landfill general permit to DEQ on August 8, 2007 (EDMS
Document 36183018). St. Gabriel Redevelopment plans to collect cell
dewatering wastewater from the construction and demolition landfill
cell and discharge the wastewater via a ditch to the Commercial Canal,
Bayou Braud, Spanish Lake and the Alligator Bayou Control Structure to
Bayou Manchac. The additional wastewater loading to Alligator Bayou is
unacceptable. The Bayou is already stressed and is the location of
chemical loading that is causing large quantities of foam to be
generated. The location of a Construction and Demolition debris
landfill at the proposed location is unacceptable based on the
necessity to discharge the wastewater through Alligator Bayou.
Description of Need Versus Service Area
St. Gabriel Redevelopment attempted to demonstrate the need for the C
& D landfill near St. Gabriel based on the fact that the only D
& J Landfill in the area is under a DEQ closure order and will soon
cease operation. In the Introduction section of the Solid Waste permit application (EDMS Document No. 36712948 page 7 of 546), the
applicant states that the proposed St. Gabriel landfill will be the
only C & D landfill available to serve the disposal needs in the
south Baton Rouge area (parishes of southern E. Baton Rouge, Iberville,
Ascension, St. John the Baptist, St. James and Livingston). Upon
further examination of the permit application, the applicant designated
the service area as state wide (EDMS Document No. 36712948 page 25 of
546). In addition on page 25 of 546 (EDMS Document No. 36712948) the
applicant further describes the waste to be received by the site as
consisting of C & D debris from the service area. The service area
is state wide. Thus the applicant in the Introduction is attempting to
paint a picture of the waste to be disposed of at the site as coming
from the south Baton Rouge area while the remainder of the application
describes the waste to be received as being generated across the state.
Transportation of Waste
In the solid waste permit
application (EDMS Document No. 36712948 page 111 of 546), the applicant
states there would be 100 trucks per day entering the landfill through
each to the two entrances (Hwy. 75 - ICI Road and through Bear
Industries from Hwy. 75 ) carrying C & D waste into the facility.
This equals 200 trucks per day. In the IT response, the applicant
states that there will be up to 22 trucks a day utilizing the facility
(EDMS Document No. 36712948 page 48 of 546). On page 49 of 546 under
the response to the IT questions (EDMS Document No. 36712948), the
applicant utilized the 22 trucks per day estimate to calculate savings
in transportation costs when comparing various other C & D
landfills to the St. Gabriel landfill. Up to 22 trucks a day versus 200
trucks a day is a very large difference in truck traffic and quantity
of waste being transported to the proposed landfill. The applicant must
be required to rectify the differences in truck traffic count.
On page 49 of 546 of EDMS Document No. 36712948 the applicant indicated
that the landfill will be near dock facilities. No where else in the
application is there any indication that C & D waste will be
transported to the area of the landfill site via water. The applicant
must be required to clarify the issues of transportation of waste.
Air Pollution
In the response to the IT questions, the applicant list dust and
wind-blown materials as potential air pollution issues. The applicant
indicated that cover soils will prevent releases of odors and
wind-blown debris. The applicant failed to state that the C & D
regulation only require C & D landfills to be covered with interim
cover once per month. The applicant also failed to identify emissions
of hydrogen sulfide as a large problem from C & D landfills. The
hydrogen sulfide is generated as a result of degradation of wallboard
which will be disposed of in the St. Gabriel landfill.
Air
Pollution issues associated with C & D landfills are a substantial
problem which are not adequately addressed by application of interim
cover once per month.
Conclusion
The proposed location that would result in waste
water discharges into Alligator Bayou make the proposed site
unacceptable. The inconsistencies in the application also raise areas
of grave concern. The proposed C & D landfill is designed to
consist of a 90 acre disposal cell which will operate for 20 to 40
years. The application for the landfill by St. Gabriel Redevelopment is
unacceptable and DEQ should deny the permit.
LDEQ will accept written comments from the public on this proposed permit until 12:30 p.m. on Monday June 9, 2008.
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