Sacramento County landfill fined for leaking toxic, cancer-linked gases
Excess toxic air pollutants that can cause cancer and damage the nervous system and liver were released from Kiefer Landfill over more than seven months in 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.
According to the agency, Kiefer Landfill, owned and operated by Sacramento County, violated the Clean Air Act for failing to properly capture landfill gas from Jan. 24, 2023, to Sept. 12, 2023, during construction work, leading to the release of excess hazardous pollutants, including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and vinyl chloride.
“EPA is committed to ensuring landfills comply with the Clean Air Act,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director Amy Miller, in a news release on Wednesday.
“We will continue to monitor compliance and take appropriate action against facilities that violate air quality standards and harm human health.”
EPA spokesperson Mikayla Rumph said 68 of the landfill’s roughly 200 total gas collection wells allegedly “experienced excessive downtime within the construction area” from Jan. 24 to Sept. 12 in 2023 and led to pollutant emissions. Rumph noted that EPA’s findings are based on an overall assessment of how the landfill’s gas collection system performed during that period, not a finding that excess gases were released every day.
The federal agency has fined Sacramento County about $197,000 as part of a settlement. Sacramento County did not immediately respond to The Sacramento Bee’s request for comment.
Benzene and vinyl chloride are identified by the EPA as cancer-causing pollutants, while toluene and ethyl benzene are linked to other health problems, including respiratory issues, after long-term exposure. The landfill release also contributed to ground-level ozone, which the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District has described as one of the key air quality concerns in the region.
Under the Clean Air Act, landfill operators must install and maintain systems to collect and control landfill gas emissions to limit air pollution, odors and safety risks According to the agency, the municipal solid waste facility failed to comply with the law by not properly operating its gas collection systems during the construction period but has since restored them.
The agency has also fined Altamont Landfill in Alameda County for violating the Clean Air Act after it illegally released more than 340,000 pounds of treated landfill gas from storage tanks, according to Wednesday’s release.
