City of Northampton Assessed $5,750 Penalty for Air Quality Violations at Landfill

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Northampton to address air quality violations at the city's Glendale Road landfill. 

In late summer 2007, in response to a series of odor complaints, MassDEP discovered that a flare used for destroying landfill gas was not being operated in accordance with the city's landfill permit. In some instances, the flare had failed to ignite, causing unburned landfill gas to be released to the environment, causing nuisance odors in the neighborhood surrounding the landfill. The city was cited for failure to operate the flare in accordance with its air quality permit.  

"Facilities must ensure that their pollution control systems are in good operating condition at all times," said Michael Gorski, director of MassDEP's Western Regional Office in Springfield. "We have increased our oversight of the current operations to ensure that the landfill is managed and functioning properly."

To address the noncompliance, the city has since modified the flare in order to ensure its proper operation. A new enclosed flare will be installed by June 2008. As part of the settlement agreement, the city will pay $1,000 of the penalty and will implement a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) valued at $4,750. The SEP will involve the implementation of energy efficiency improvements at city-owned and operated facilities.

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