JEFFERSON PARISH, LA (1/3/2019) — The Jefferson Parish landfill near Avondale remains out of compliance, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The parish said Wednesday that rain has delayed some work to reduce odors spreading from the facility.

Mike Algero, surveillance division administrator for DEQ, said that if the stench is not fixed soon, the department will take further enforcement action, but he did not say what that action would be or when.

Algero said the fumes are still registering at remote monitoring sites on both sides of the river, miles away from the parish-owned landfill. The smell is blamed on stagnant liquid waste, called leachate, that DEQ said is not being properly drained from the site.

“It (leachate) should be one foot from the base of that landfill and right now it’s significantly higher, so the landfill is essentially flooded,” Algero said. “The gas wells are flooded so you’re not able to capture the gases and they’re working their way out through that landfill through other means. And we’ve captured that on our infrared cameras. We see gas bubbling up through the landfill.”

In a report released in October, the Louisiana Department of Health said it has been logging complaints that the smell is making residents sick since 2008. Wednesday, Dr. Joseph Kanter with DHH said the department is still tracking DEQ’s air monitoring of the landfill.

“Smells create an incredible quality of life impairment, sore throat, coughing, bloody nose, but they don’t rise to the level of permanent health threat when compared to national standards,” Kanter said.

People living with the smell say they are concerned about unknown, long-term effects, especially among children and the elderly. Some said the smell has been strong this week during foggy mornings. Some expected more progress, following the parish council meeting on Dec. 5, in which contractors and project managers working at the landfill said they would begin draining the site that month.

Despite the rain delays, the Jefferson Parish Department of Environmental Affairs director, Michael Lockwood, said that all work is still on schedule per the engineer’s projection.

Parish officials said they could not provide a timeline of when residents should notice an improvement in the air quality related to the landfill stench.

https://www.wdsu.com/article/stench-of-liquid-waste-still-plaguing-jefferson-parish-residents/25729639

Contact: jcrockett@hearst.com