Press Release:
Update on the Status of Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill
Friday, May 15, 2015 – 3:15pm
Escambia County regrets to announce that it will be enforcing the Final Order issued by a Special Magistrate with the Office of Environmental Enforcement and temporarily stopping the flow of truck traffic in continuance of disposal of debris onto the site at of close of business today.
While it appears that the management of the Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, located at 6990 Rolling Hills Road, has addressed at least some of the concerns outlined in the Magistrate’s order, Escambia County finds that Rolling Hills is not in full compliance with the Special Magistrate’s March 13, 2015 Final Order. Based on that finding, the County has asked for the Sheriff’s assistance in enforcing the Magistrate’s order.
Work will still be allowed to occur at the facility in order to mitigate odor issues, reduce the mound and to complete screening to shield the landfill from the neighborhood.
The Special Magistrate’s order found that Rolling Hills violated numerous County Code provisions during the past year, including:
1. Discharging a nuisance odor beyond its property
2. 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
3. Exceeding the height restriction of the facility’s permit
4. Allowing the landfill mound to become visible from beyond the property line
5. Accepting land-clearing debris in unpermitted areas
In the ruling, the Special Magistrate gave Rolling Hills specific instructions to address and correct the violations, including an order to immediately stop certain violations, instructions to address other violations and a timeline in which the corrective actions must be completed.
On Thursday, May 14, inspection of the site and the surrounding area by Code Enforcement Officers and Community & Environment Department scientists observed nuisance odors above acceptable levels. The nuisance odor was not only observed by members of County staff, it was detected with the use Jerome 631X hydrogen sulfide meter – which registered a maximum level of 35 parts per billion.
Also during yesterday’s inspection, Rolling Hills’ staff confirmed that the height of the mound was still above the permitted height of 130 feet.
Additionally, Code Enforcement and Community & Environment staff noted three areas where the mound was still visible from beyond the property line.
Escambia County Code Enforcement and the County’s Department of Community and Environment will continue to monitor the situation at Rolling Hills and initiate any action it deems necessary to ensure compliance with the Special Magistrate’s ruling.