On Friday, March 13, Special Magistrate with the Office of Environmental Enforcement R. Todd Harris ruled against the management of the Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, located at 6990 Rolling Hills Road in Escambia County.
The magistrate found that Rolling Hills violated several laws during the past year, including:
- Discharging a nuisance odor beyond its property
- Failing to properly cover landfill to deprive debris of oxygen to prevent emission of offensive odors and reduce the threat of fire inside the landfill
- Exceeding the height restriction of the landfill
- Allowing the landfill mound to become visible from beyond the property line
- Accepting land-clearing debris without a permit
In the ruling, the Special Magistrate has given Rolling Hills specific instructions to address and correct the violations, including an order to immediately stop certain violations and instructions to address other violations. Fines are also outlined in the order should the management of the property fail to take appropriate action in a timely manner.
The management of Rolling Hills has been given until April 13 to formally appeal the orders of the Special Magistrate in writing.
The Special Magistrate has also given Escambia County the authority to take appropriate steps to stop the flow of truck traffic into the Rolling Hills landfill property, if necessary, in order to expedite the abatement of violations on the Rolling Hills property if the violations are not corrected by May 14.
Escambia County Code Enforcement will continue to monitor the situation at Rolling Hills while the Department of Community and Environment will continue to monitor the air quality in the neighborhood next to Rolling Hills.
Here is Special Magistrate’s ruling: RollingHills_Final_Order