CDT Landfill Corp. has been cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly breaking clean-air regulations at its municipal solid waste landfill in Joliet.
The EPA is proposing a $72,380 penalty and alleging that the landfill firm failed to submit a report on non-methane organic compound emission rates at the landfill on Mound Road near Interstate Highway 80 in Joliet.
The EPA also is alleging that the firm failed to submit a gas collection and emission control system design plan on time and failed to perform required performance tests.
In addition, the company failed to apply for a Clean Air Act program permit, the EPA contends.
Clean Air Act regulations for municipal solid waste landfills became effective May 30, 1996, for landfills that started construction, reconstruction or modifications, or began taking waste on or after May 30, 1991, said Margaret Guerriero, acting director of the EPA’s Midwest air and radiation division.
“The EPA’s mission is to protect public health and the environment, and we’ll take whatever steps are necessary to ensure compliance with federal clean-air regulations,” Guerriero noted.
She added that volatile non-methane organic compound emissions, combined in the air with other chemicals on warm days, form ground-level ozone, which can cause breathing problems, reduce lung function, cause eye irritation and stuffy nose and reduce resistance to colds and other infections.
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Children, the elderly and people with chronic respiratory diseases are especially sensitive to ozone.
CDT has 30 days to respond to the complaint and request a hearing or an informal conference to discuss the allegations, EPA officials said.
The CDT landfill, which is nearing capacity, is in the process of being closed. Until recently, it had been Joliet’s primary garbage dump.