SPSA makes fixes at Suffolk landfill, denying smell source

SUFFOLK

On the chilly night of Feb. 12, two inspectors from the state Department of Environmental Quality rode the back roads of Suffolk in search of the mysterious, nasty smell that has drifted over parts of the city for months.

It didn't take long.

"The odor smelled like landfill gas, and appeared to be narrow, and coming from the direction of Cell VI on the southwest side of the SPSA landfill property," their report said, referring to the Southeastern Public Service Authority landfill off the U.S. 58 bypass.

After all of the complaints and city-held meetings to identify the source of the odor, SPSA has made an effort to correct some of the possible causes. The smell has become less intense, less frequent and less of a problem, residents say. The trash authority, however, contests the widely held assumption that its trash pile is the source.

SPSA Executive Director Rowland "Bucky" Taylor said Friday that SPSA has compacted the area being used to sort trash before it goes into the trash cell, from the size of a football field to about a third the size of a football field.

The landfill has installed a temporary gas collection system at a cost of about $20,000. SPSA has invested another $40,000 to pay a Norfolk engineering company to study the smell. Taylor said he believes some of it comes from the landfill, but he also believes there are other factors.

The rotten egg smell residents have complained about doesn't come from the landfill's methane gas, he said. I t comes from hydrogen sulfide, another product of decomposing garbage. But Taylor said the air content of the hydrogen sulfide isn't enough to be considered harmful to humans.

Mozella Green, who lives on Nansemond Parkway not far from the landfill, had a health problem a few years ago that left her with fluid in her lungs and around her heart. She eventually recovered, but the illness left her with little tolerance for pungent odors.

She has to be careful about the cleaning solutions she uses, she said, and she's still sometimes apprehensive about going outside during hot weather. But recently, even in her own environment, Green has been left rubbing her temples and clutching her throat.

She lives within shouting distance of the bypass. She can look out her kitchen window and see the trash dump.

"It's been so terrible, it's about knocked me out," Green said. "When that stink comes, I just can't stand it."

You don't have to live in the city to notice the smell. It's been obvious to motorists passing through.

But it's the residents who live in the northeastern corner of the city, on Wilroy Road and Nansemond Parkway, who have suffered the brunt of what has come to be known as "the big stink."

The City Council got involved when residents complained at a meeting last month. One council member, Leroy Bennett, knew exactly what they were talking about, and he sympathized. The stink had even made his wife sick, Bennett said.

The city was about to hire a consultant to find the source of the egg like, gassy odor when the DEQ got involved.

On Feb. 24, the state agency wrote a letter to SPSA warning the trash agency to get rid of the smell. The agency said it believes the smell is coming from the sixth cell of the landfill, the newest trash depository to be opened on the site. The other cells are closed.

State law doesn't require that landfills install a gas collection system until a cell has been open for five years. The sixth cell has been open for only three years, but it stinks enough to provoke claims of discomfort, even illness.

Taylor said a permanent gas collection system will soon be installed in cell six. He said all of the rain this winter, nearby swampland or other landfills could be contributing to the smell.

The letter sent from DEQ to SPSA says state law imposes a civil penalty of up to $32,500 per day for violating the state air code.

The regional trash agency could be fined up to $100,000 if the problem isn't corrected. The state code also provides for additional penalties, according to the letter.

SPSA has until Tuesday to adopt an odor control plan.

In recent days, Green said, her husband has said he smelled a hint of the nasty scent, but it was not nearly as strong as it's been in the past. She said she hopes it's gone.

Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com