Bethlehem Landfill Bad Odor Nuisance Pennsylvania Class Action

The address is Applebutter Road, but the business located there in this Pennsylvania community doesn’t smell like grandma’s kitchen. The complaint for this class action says that the waste and disposal facility operated by Bethlehem Landfill Company generates noxious odors that are a nuisance to the surrounding community.

The class for this action is all owners, occupants, and renters of residential property within a 2.5 mile radius of the Bethlehem Landfill Company facility.

The IESI PA landfill can accept up to 1,375 tons of waste per day, which the complaint says creates “landfill gas, leachate and other byproducts.” The complaint says that the company has “the legal duty and responsibility” to capture and destroy the landfill’s emissions before they become a problem for the landfill’s neighbors.

The complaint says that the Bethlehem landfill is required to do this “by, among other things, following proper landfill practices, utilizing adequate landfill cover, and installing, operating, and maintaining a sufficient landfill gas collection system to capture and destroy landfill gas.”

However, the complaint claims that at times neighbors’ properties have been “physically invaded by noxious odors, pollutants, and air contaminants” from the landfill. Although residents and local government have made complaints to the landfill and to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the complaint claims that the company has still been careless and failed to fulfill its duties. It cites a number of incidents:

• April 16, 2012: Township Order of Compliance issued along with an assessment of over $45,000 in fines.
• April 10, 2014: DEP found Bethlehem in violation for not placing an intermediate cover on top of the trash piles each day.
• August 27, 2014: DEP found Bethlehem in violation because the intermediate cover did not prevent vectors, odors, blowing litter, and other nuisances.
• May 12, 2015: DEP issued Bethlehem an NOV because of strong odors and noted its failure to implement a gas control and monitoring plan.
• June 24, 2015: DEP again found the intermediate cover and the gas monitoring and venting to be ineffective.
• May 7, 2018: DEP found Bethlehem to be out of compliance with the state’s Solid Waste Management Act and local Municipal Rules on a number of counts, including failure to reduce offsite odors.

The complaint claims that Bethlehem is responsible for failures of its gas collection and monitoring systems, an inadequate odor management plan, inadequate treatment of leachate, improper use of vents or flares, and inadequate odor neutralizing systems and products, among other things. According to the complaint, eighty-five households have contacted the attorneys in this case about the odor nuisance.

The complaint charges Bethlehem with public and private nuisance and negligence.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Bad Odor, Nuisance