Orchard Hill Sanitary Landfill (Berrien County)

Orchard Hill Sanitary Landfill (Berrien County)

Landfill Management Company, a Michigan corporation, owns and operates a solid waste disposal area which is a Type II sanitary landfill (Disposal Area) located in Watervliet and Coloma Townships, Berrien County, known as the Orchard Hill Sanitary Landfill. The results of the Third Quarter 1998 groundwater sampling event revealed elevated levels of chloride and total inorganic nitrogen in MW‑101R2 on the east side of the Disposal Area and MW‑107 and EW-5 on the west side of the Disposal Area. This event triggered Landfill Management Company to submit an Assessment Monitoring Plan and a Response Action Plan under Rules 441 and 442 of Part 115, Solid Waste Management, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended (NREPA). However, Landfill Management Company is in violation of Rule 436(1)(c) of the Part 115 Rules and Sections 3109(1) and 3112(1) of the NREPA by causing a discharge to the waters of the State without a permit, which is or may become injurious. A Notice of Violation was issued to Landfill Management Company on August 8, 2000. On September 14, 2000, a Consent Order was entered between Landfill Management Company and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to resolve the violations. The Consent Order requires that Landfill Management Company delineate the extent of the groundwater contamination, complete an assessment of corrective measures and a remedial action plan. The Consent Order also requires Landfill Management Company to complete a supplemental environmental project (SEP), pay $5,000 in settlement of the DEQ’s claims for civil penalties, and pay $225 in costs. The SEP will be an enhancement of the final cover system for the Disposal Area and is expected to cost in excess of $1 million.