Public input sought on KV landfill growth plan

Do we want garbage coming from Chicago and dumped over here? — Councilman Brian Fabre

Killona Ventures, LLC a construction and demolition landfill located on Hwy 3127 in Killona, wants to nearly double in land size and accept more hazardous materials. A resolution to support increasing the size of the landfill from 75 acres to 144 acres was tabled at the June 4 council meeting after councilman Barry Minnich said the public should be given more time to comment on the proposed expansion. He also said the landfill smells bad. Councilman Brian Fabre expressed his concerns that KV landfill is located in one of the few areas in the parish left to develop. Desmond Hillaire, councilman for district 1 where the landfill is located, tabled the resolution and called for a town hall meeting in mid-July to discuss the expansion with all the parties involved.

According to parish records, KV has a C and D permit which means it can only accept construction and demolition debris. Since Katrina, the company has had an emergency permit to be able to accept RACM “Regulated Asbestos Contaminated Materials” as well. C and D landfills are not permitted to take in RACM or house hold waste. These types of waste must go into what is called a subtitle D landfill which is lined with a synthetic liner to protect the environment.

These actions of KV landfill owners Wade Scott, of Madisonville, LA and Sunny Day Financial LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada, has some parish officials concerned.

In 2005, the La. Department of Environmental Quality granted KV landfill a temporary emergency permit to accept RACM waste and to increase the height of the landfill from 25 to 125 feet. This temporary permit was issued in the aftermath of Katrina with no public input and no permitting process. RACM waste is defined as debris that comes from houses built prior to 1975 that have asbestos floors, shingles, siding, etc.

LA DEQ has a regulation that says that all RACM waste must go into a subtitle D landfill (one with a liner) except during times of emergency it can go into a C and D landfill. That emergency expired six months after Katrina. All other states, even under emergency order, do NOT allow RACM waste to go into C and D landfills. This waste MUST go into a subtitle D landfill.

When DEQ decided to rescind the permit, KV landfill sued and was granted an injunction by Judge Wilson Fields of the 16th District Court in Baton Rouge. DEQ is appealing the ruling.

“What I’m most upset about is that we weren’t given the option of having a voice on this,” says parish councilman Brian Fabre. According to parish attorney Bobby Raymond, after KV Landfill received the emergency permit from DEQ, the company should have come back to the parish to get permission.

Parish ordinances currently restrict the height of the landfill to 25 feet and allow only construction and demolition debris. These ordinances specifically state that regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM) may not be deposited in this landfill. “We’re prepared to hold them to our local ordinances,” said Fabre.

Sources say that Wade Scott has recently filed a document with the DEQ saying that he wants to sell the KV landfill to Trans Load Company of America. Trans Load picks up garbage all over the U.S. and ships it to landfills they own.

“We don’t want to be America’s dumping ground. Do we want garbage coming from Chicago and dumped over here?” asked Fabre. “You’ve got to look to the future. The state has plans to make Hwy 3127 a 4-lane. This is the only land we have left to develop.”

 

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