The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will cost about $2.8 million to put out a landfill fire in St. Clair County that’s been burning since late November. That estimate may increase as the work continues.
The EPA this week approved a budget increase on the project that would raise how much the agency can pay a contractor to put out the fire by about $900,000. The new estimated external costs are now approved up to $1,529,316, with the total costs for the project to EPA now estimated at $2,806,345.
The money will come from EPA’s regional funds for emergency response. The agency can later attempt to recover those costs from the responsible parties through enforcement actions.
In the budget increase memo, the agency notes that “A delay in action or no action at this Site would increase the actual or potential threats to the public health and/or environment.”
The EPA took over the response to a landfill fire about 15 miles northeast of Birmingham on Jan. 19 after air samples showed elevated levels of potentially dangerous chemicals -- natural and manmade -- in the area near the fire. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency the day before.
The landfill fire was first reported to local fire fighters on Nov. 25, Black Friday, and is still burning, at times blanketing the area in thick smoke around the Birmingham suburbs of Moody and Trussville.
Some residents near the site have fled their homes until the fire can be put out, and others have reported symptoms including headaches, coughing, red eyes and breathing problems.
The fire is located at the Environmental Landfill, Inc., which was largely unregulated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management because the landfill was only supposed to accept green waste, such as fallen trees or other vegetation. However, ADEM inspectors and neighbors have reported finding materials such as tires, roof shingles, construction waste, electronics and other unauthorized materials at the site.
The site is estimated to be a little over 20 acres, with a waste pile 100 feet deep in some places.
The EPA’s current strategy is to cover the fire with a layer of cover dirt to extinguish the flames.
“Generally in a landfill situation, you try and snuff it out,” EPA On-Scene Coordinator Terry Stilman told AL.com last week.
The agency is currently using heavy equipment to grade the site and bringing in cover dirt from outside sources.
The EPA has set up air monitoring stations around the site that check constantly for the concentrations of particulate matter showing how thick the smoke is. In addition, the EPA says air samples are collected daily and sent to a laboratory for analysis of potentially harmful chemicals that might be in the smoke.
