NJ Senator Seeks to Shut down Rotten-Egg-Smelling Landfill

A landfill in Roxbury, New Jersey, has received hundreds of complaints from nearby residents of a stench like rotten eggs, and a bill has been filed by Sen. Anthony Bucco that would force the landfill to shut down.

The Fenimore Landfill, owned by Strategic Environmental Partners, had been closed since 1979 but was reopened in 2011 with plans to fill it, cap it and build a solar facility on the location, writes NJ.com.

The odor was caused by hydrogen sulfide emitted mainly by construction and demolition debris, according to an independent expert. In March, the landfill operator stopped accepting the debris, saying the company believed it could complete the capping of the landfill without the need for more construction and demolition materials.

Legal bills regarding the project cost the town $140,000 it will fund in the 2013 budget, according to the article.

Air monitoring meters at the Fenimore landfill spiked to 102 ppb of h2s on May 10, the highest reading yet seen, the Roxbury Register reported.

According to the Fenimore Landfill website operated by a “concerned group of Roxbury residents,” the odor problem “continues to be an every day nuisance. Independant monitoring shows that concentrations exist at levels that pose a public health threat. Over 200 residents filed a class action lawsuit against the owner to remediate the gas and odor problem. The court continues to allow more material to be brought in and has not mandated a permanent solution or timeline for this problem that is harming public health and the environment. Residents have lost the enjoyable use of their property. Kids are missing school and parents are missing work… Home values have plummeted and buyers are walking away from sales contracts. Long term health impacts are still unknown.”