Health concerns prompt area residents' protest of landfill expansion plan
The Canada-based company has proposed a 90-acre expansion of the facility on property currently owned by GFL at Napier and Six Mile roads, just north of the current landfill site. The expansion would be located in Salem Township, near the Northville border.
Several residents spoke at what was to be a town hall meeting, complaining about odors, traffic, and water quality issues. The meeting was organized by The Conservancy Initiative, a non-profit group opposed to the expansion.
Dave Drinan, vice president of the organization, spoke to the assembled crowd and advised people to make their objections and experiences with the current landfill public. He urged area residents to comment at Washtenaw County public meetings where approval of the expansion must be approved by the board of commissioners before a permit from EGLE, the state
Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, can be considered.
Residents of nearby Northville neighborhoods and in the Ridge Wood Elementary attendance area complained about the foul odors and potential health concerns, in addition to the expected increased garbage truck traffic in the area. Residents expressed criticism of the argument that they purchased homes knowing the landfill existed noting the homeowners did not expect pollution, violation of permit regulation or the degradation of the air quality and peace of their neighborhoods.
Those complaints, Drinan told the crowd, should be brought to the attention of officials considering the proposed expansion. He said 114 odor complaints were filed about Arbor Hills in one month and those came from 80 different email addresses.
“These odors are real,” Drinan said, noting complaints can trigger inspections from EGLE. “When you have a noxious odor, please take a minute and make the complaint,” Drinan urged the crowd.
Several audience members expressed concern about any environmental impact on Johnson Creek, the only cold-water trout stream in Michigan.. Others noted concerns regarding the Rouge River watershed.
“Johnson Creek is the holy waters of southeastern Michigan,” said Northville Mayor Brian Turnbull, who described himself as an avid fisherman and noting that landfill-related pollution could alter the ecosystem and ripple downstream.
Northville Township Supervisor Mark Abbo said the township has been engaged in an ongoing legal battle, including a 2021 lawsuit and later court action tied to odors.
The Detroit Free Press reported Jan. 7 that “Arbor Hills has faced repeated enforcement tied to odor and compliance issues, including U.S. EPA intervention in 2016, a lawsuit filed in 2020 by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on behalf of EGLE, and a March 2022 settlement that included $2.3 million in fines and 17 operational improvements aimed at reducing odors. The Free Press also reported the landfill was found in 2019 and 2020 to have elevated PFAS in monitoring wells, leachate and a stormwater pond draining toward Johnson Creek.”
Dave Seegert, district manager for GFL Environmental, told the Detroit Free Press the Arbor Hills landfill “provides an essential service for the surrounding communities and the expansion is necessary to sustain those services into the surrounding communities.”
