Alabama Landfill Files $30-Million Lawsuit Against Locals

Date: May 23, 2016

Source: News Room

Controversy continues to surround Alabama's Arrowhead Landfill where the new owners, Green Group Holdings LLC, has filed a $30-million defamation lawsuit against some local residents. Residents of the landfill, which are 90 percent African American, have fought against the landfill since it was permitted in 2007 on the grounds that it violates environmental justice. Green Group claims that the group is making false claims about noise, rodents and odor from the landfill which were resolved in 2011, when the company acquired the landfill. The citizen's group "Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice" filed a complaint against the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for reissuing permits to the landfill's operators in both 2011 and 2012.

The 1,300-acre landfill is the largest in the state, accepting on average 9,500 tons of waste per day from communities and industries in 33 states. In 2009 the landfill received 5 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant in Tennessee which suffered a massive spill in December 2008.

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