Municipal News
- Last Updated on Friday, 01 March 2013 08:20
By Christina Walko
A crowd of 30 + residents gathered at the February 6th Council meeting, all to address one of the township’s ongoing problems, a strong putrid smell coming from the Tervita Landfill in Rostraver. The residents, along with Commissioner Andy Temoshenka, wanted many questions answered.
A crowd of 30 + residents gathered at the February 6th Council meeting, all to address one of the township’s ongoing problems, a strong putrid smell coming from the Tervita Landfill in Rostraver. The residents, along with Commissioner Andy Temoshenka, wanted many questions answered.
The plant’s manager, along with several other officials, came in to once again assure people that the problem is not a danger to public health, but an ongoing nuisance smell that Tervita is spending much money to get rid of using several methods.
Tervita general manager Ron Levine was at last month’s meeting also, persuading a smaller group of people. But the strong smell remains and residents were not so easily assured this time. They brought up issues such as radiation, air quality, fracking water, hyrogen sulfide and carcinogens as well as the ongoing issues of property values decreasing from the smell permeating their residences.
The smell began to be an issue back in 2011. Residents and Commissioner Temoshenka were suspicious that the odor became a problem around the time that the landfill started to accept byproducts from natural gas drilling. Ron Levine disputed this, saying that they started taking drill cuttings, but not actual fracking (hydrolic fracturing) water in 2009. He said there is a big difference between drill cuttings and frack water. “We don’t deal with the frack water business or the brine water business.”
Residents like Debbie Fought of Lenity School Road, one of the places where the smell is strongest, wonder what they are breathing in. “Nobody is regulating this except the Department of Enviornmental Protection and they keep telling me they’ve been carved down to bare bones.”
Temoshenka did receive notice from the DEP that they will soon begin impromptu air testing around the landfills perimeters. But many feel that the DEP is inadequate when up against big money companies such as Tervita.
The commissioners, at the suggestion of Gary Beck, said they will consider bringing in a private company to test the area.
Pricedale resident Jack Kruell presented much data and questioned whether what everybody smells could be hydrogen sulfide gas. He questioned the chemical composition of the mist, which Tervita is attempting to use to mask the landfills stench, saying that one of the chemicals is a known carcinogen.
Ron Levine disputed the hydrogen sulfide gas theory vehemently. “If what you were smelling was hydrogen sulfide, I wouldn’t be standing here, because I’d be dead. None of us would be here. I don’t want to be sick and I don’t want anybody sick.”
Levine repeated much of what he had said in previous meetings, stating, “It’s not the waste material itself. It’s the biodegradation of the landfill and that natural process that is causing the odor.”
Tervita is trying to neutralize what it says is a harmless but nasty smell by a mist spraying system which ran Jan 30 through Feb 1st. However, there was not enough time for it to make much difference before the outside temperature dropped to a level where the spray system would not work. The company is entertaining two other solutions also – an installation system for the lines and a temporary waterless system.
Levine brought along with him radiation expert Todd Mobley of Applied Health Physics to reassure residents that they weren’t in danger of radiation exposure.
Levine also says that his company welcomes any testing and will continue to work hard to allieviate the odor. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there and I can’t combat every piece. But were going to do the best we can.”
But both skeptical and fed-up residents are demanding concrete and usable solutions as the conflict heated up.
Tervita general manager Ron Levine was at last month’s meeting also, persuading a smaller group of people. But the strong smell remains and residents were not so easily assured this time. They brought up issues such as radiation, air quality, fracking water, hyrogen sulfide and carcinogens as well as the ongoing issues of property values decreasing from the smell permeating their residences.
The smell began to be an issue back in 2011. Residents and Commissioner Temoshenka were suspicious that the odor became a problem around the time that the landfill started to accept byproducts from natural gas drilling. Ron Levine disputed this, saying that they started taking drill cuttings, but not actual fracking (hydrolic fracturing) water in 2009. He said there is a big difference between drill cuttings and frack water. “We don’t deal with the frack water business or the brine water business.”
Residents like Debbie Fought of Lenity School Road, one of the places where the smell is strongest, wonder what they are breathing in. “Nobody is regulating this except the Department of Enviornmental Protection and they keep telling me they’ve been carved down to bare bones.”
Temoshenka did receive notice from the DEP that they will soon begin impromptu air testing around the landfills perimeters. But many feel that the DEP is inadequate when up against big money companies such as Tervita.
The commissioners, at the suggestion of Gary Beck, said they will consider bringing in a private company to test the area.
Pricedale resident Jack Kruell presented much data and questioned whether what everybody smells could be hydrogen sulfide gas. He questioned the chemical composition of the mist, which Tervita is attempting to use to mask the landfills stench, saying that one of the chemicals is a known carcinogen.
Ron Levine disputed the hydrogen sulfide gas theory vehemently. “If what you were smelling was hydrogen sulfide, I wouldn’t be standing here, because I’d be dead. None of us would be here. I don’t want to be sick and I don’t want anybody sick.”
Levine repeated much of what he had said in previous meetings, stating, “It’s not the waste material itself. It’s the biodegradation of the landfill and that natural process that is causing the odor.”
Tervita is trying to neutralize what it says is a harmless but nasty smell by a mist spraying system which ran Jan 30 through Feb 1st. However, there was not enough time for it to make much difference before the outside temperature dropped to a level where the spray system would not work. The company is entertaining two other solutions also – an installation system for the lines and a temporary waterless system.
Levine brought along with him radiation expert Todd Mobley of Applied Health Physics to reassure residents that they weren’t in danger of radiation exposure.
Levine also says that his company welcomes any testing and will continue to work hard to allieviate the odor. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there and I can’t combat every piece. But were going to do the best we can.”
But both skeptical and fed-up residents are demanding concrete and usable solutions as the conflict heated up.
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