DA launches criminal investigation into landfill closure

The District Attorney for a small community where the operator of a controversial landfill padlocked its gates and declared bankruptcy has launched an investigation into possible felony and white collar crimes.

Matthew Stowe, district attorney for Benton County, said his office is investigating Environmental Waste Solutions and its executives for possible violations of public safety laws for abandoning the landfill where two tanker trucks filled potentially combustible ammonia, along with 250-pound plastic containers of cadmium sludge left outside. Stowe said he would also be examining the company's financial records to see if company officials had put money aside for the expensive costs of closing a landfill.

"We are looking at felony charges based on the current lack of safety-ness and white collar charges based on how they were operating," Stowe said. "The entire time were operating they should have been putting money aside to close this place down. If they haven't done so, the operation is a fraud and we will pursue white collar crimes."

"We will not allow large corporations to bully their way into our communities under false pretenses, endanger the lives of innocent children and the property of our citizens, and walk away," Stowe said.

An attorney for Environmental Waste Solutions solutions responded by sharing a letter sent to the district attorney saying the company was "unable to operate the business as a going concern."

"EWS. has previously posted substantial financial surety that TDEC will use to safety and properly close and maintain the facility. There is every reason to believe that the Chapter 7 trustee and TDEC will fully comply with the extensive regulations related to closed landfills in Tennessee," the attorney, Bob Mendes, wrote.

The Nashville-based company had been operating the landfill in Camden, Tenn., about 90 miles west of Nashville since 2011 and had been the subject of numerous complaints of ammonia smells, dust and sickness from residents at nearby homes.

The company filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, leaving behind a 42-acre landfill - and a costly and long-term clean-up operation. The landfill requires day-to-day monitoring. A looming mound of waste nicknamed "Black Mountain" and other smaller mounds of industrial debris generates thousands of gallons of leachate, or wastewater, by the week that must be processed and hauled from the site. As part of its operating permit, the company posted a letter of credit for approximately $1.7 million that state officials say they are in the process of collecting. It's unknown whether those funds will cover all costs associated with its closure, a process that can include decades of monitoring.

Officials with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC, gained access to the site and had begun reestablishing air monitoring to test for ammonia levels. They removed the tanker trucks Wednesday. By Thursday they had crafted an operating plan for the duration of the bankruptcy proceedings.

"We are pulling together all of our available resources to do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of neighbors near the landfill and protect the environment," said TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau.

Stowe said the fact TDEC officials were monitoring the site did not absolve EWS of its responsibilities during the bankruptcy process.

"I know TDEC is all over it but nobody knows the site like they do," he said. "What I would really like rather than prosecuting people and putting them in jail is for them going back to the site and making it safe."

Kevin Thompson, a West Virginia-based environmental lawyer who has represented rural communities where coal or other industries have contaminated water and air quality, said in similar situations, communities have had to file legal actions to fight for clean up costs.

"What you're looking at is pretty much the worst case scenario," Thompson said.

The community of 3,500 has long fought the landfill and criticized state regulators with TDEC for not taking stronger action. With TDEC approval, the landfill has taken in special wastes - defined as "either difficult or dangerous to manage” - including aluminum and coal, along with diesel fuel from a Superfund site, a Tennessean investigation in March found. The materials resulted in ammonia odors, small explosions and eventually tested positive for generating hazardous waste - although the site was not permitted for hazardous waste.

Local officials said no one from TDEC informed them about the potentially dangerous wastes being deposited at the landfill. In November, 2016, they sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asking them to intervene. "From the start, TDEC allowed mistakes to pile up,"  the letter said.

TDEC officials have said the agency has done more than required at the site with inspectors visiting the site three or four times per month. In March it issues a notice of 14 violations to EWS along with more than $30,000 in fines. Those fines are among the debts subject to the bankruptcy process.

Reporter Dave Boucher contributed. Reach Anita Wadhwani at awadhwani@tennessean.com, 615-259-8092 or on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani.