By Marcus Uhe
The EPA took significant action against SBI Inert Landfill on Tuesday 4 October by charging the business with breaching the conditions of its licence to operate a landfill.
The charge relates to condition OL-L7 of their licence, which requires the waste to be covered with either soil or an alternative approved cover at the end of each day’s operations.
It comes after the EPA suspended SBI’s operating licence on Monday 3 October due to “significant and ongoing odour issues and compliance concerns” that had not been “adequately” addressed, the EPA said in a statement.
EPA chief executive Lee Miezis said EPA would not hesitate to take further legal action which could include more charges, continuation of the suspension or even cancellation of their licence.
“This is an escalation of our enforcement and compliance action against SBI, whose operating licence requires there is no off-site odour. As the local community can testify, this has not been achieved,” Mr Miezis said.
“Until the company satisfies EPA it has resolved all of the issues and can maintain proper management of the factors that caused the odour, they will be prevented from accepting waste at the landfill site.”
SBI was given a notice on 30 August asking them to show cause why their licence should not be suspended, with a deadline of Friday 30 September.
After reviewing the information they provided, EPA made the decision to suspend the licence.
The suspension means that no new waste can be received at the site until at least 30 January 2023, while the company takes all required action on site to ensure it complies with licence conditions, the EPA said.
This includes stopping the odours from the site that are impacting the local community.
Mr Miezis said the decision to suspend the licence was an escalation of EPA’s regulation of the site and comes after multiple actions were already in place.
“EPA expects that SBI will concentrate solely on fixing the odour problem that has plagued the local community for far too long,” Mr Miezis said.
“Other regulatory notices EPA has served on SBI are still in force that require SBI to remediate all compliance issues at the site while the suspension is in place.
“SBI’s operating licence requires that there is no off-site odour and until the company satisfies EPA that it has resolved all of the issues and can maintain proper management of the factors that caused the odour, they will be prevented from accepting waste at the site.”
The EPA said it would continue to monitor the site and if the odour and other compliance issues were not fully remediated by 30 January 2023, further action would be taken, including the potential extension of the suspension or even cancellation of the licence.
“The community has suffered with an unacceptable level of invasive odour and while SBI has been working to resolve the causes, they have not satisfied us that they have done enough,” Mr Miezis said.
Two improvement notices were issued on Wednesday 21 September, requiring the creation of a Stormwater Management Plan and a Leachate Management Plan, respectively.
SBI is the subject of five improvement notices as of Monday 3 October.
Simon Williamson, SBI’s director said the organisation was “extremely disappointed” with the charges and the decision to suspend their licence but would continue to liaise with the EPA to address the current issues and improvement notices.
“SBI received notification from the EPA yesterday that following the submitted response to the Notice of Intent on 13 September, they have decided to suspend the site’s landfill operating licence,” Mr Williamson said.
“This means both landfilling activities and the waste transfer station onsite are now closed.
“Works continue onsite this week to calibrate and maximise performance of the landfill gas extraction system to improve management of landfill odour.
“Additional wells are being drilled into the landfill cell to increase efficiency and capacity of the system. Nearby residents may notice some odour from the landfill during business hours.”
