(AGENPARL) – mar 09 gennaio 2024 Issued: Jan 9, 2024 (3:26pm EST)
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Allied Waste Resolves Clean Air Act Violations at its Niagara Falls Landfill
Settlement Advances EPA’s National Enforcement Priority on Mitigating
Climate Change
Contact Information:
WASHINGTON (Jan. 9, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has reached a settlement with Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill, LLC
(Allied) for violating the federal Clean Air Act at its landfill in Niagara
Falls, New York. Under the proposed settlement, Allied will pay a $671,000
penalty and operate a gas collection and control system to reduce the amount
of harmful chemicals, primarily methane, as well as other harmful organic
compounds, released into the air.
“Methane is a climate super pollutant that is 25 times more potent than
carbon dioxide, and landfills are the third largest sources of methane
emissions in the United States,” said David M. Uhlmann, Assistant
Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
“Today’s agreement will require Allied to control its unlawful methane
emissions and holds the company accountable for its violations of the Clean
Air Act.” 
“Thanks to EPA’s action, the company must operate controls to dramatically
slash the climate damaging pollutants that they are putting into our air every
day,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia, EPA Region 2. “These
pollutants also have health impacts, so cutting these pollutants not only
protects the climate, it also safeguards the health of the people living near
this landfill.”
Under the consent decree, in addition to the estimated elimination of 86,000
metric tons of CO2 equivalent methane emissions, the gas collection and
control system that Allied will operate and the operational changes it will
implement also will prevent 32 metric tons of non-methane landfill gas
emissions per year. Methane accounts for 12% of all U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions from human activities. Landfills are the third largest source of
methane in the United States and EPA is tackling these sources as part of its
National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative dedicated to Mitigating Climate
Change. These pollutants form when organic waste in the landfill decomposes
and creates landfill gas. As a result, there are federal regulations that curb
the amount of methane that can be released. In addition to causing adverse
climate effects, these pollutants, especially when released unlawfully, are
known or suspected carcinogens, and also are known or suspected to cause
damage to the kidneys, liver, and central nervous system.
The settlement also includes capping the vents on parts of the landfill that
have been inactive, monitoring the emissions and the gas wells, applying for
updated state permits including a Title V major source permit, and keeping
records of its compliance activities. The settlement resolves Clean Air Act
claims alleged in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of
EPA claiming that the company failed to timely install and operate a gas
collection and control system on the active and inactive cells of the
landfill, which caused excess landfill gas emissions to be released to the
atmosphere. The complaint also claimed that Allied failed to obtain federal
and state air permits as required by law.
The proposed consent decree, lodged with the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of New York, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and
final court approval.
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