Orchard Hill Sanitary Landfill (Berrien County)
Landfill Management Company, a Michigan corporation, owns and operates a solid
waste disposal area which is a Type II sanitary landfill (Disposal Area) located in
Watervliet and Coloma Townships, Berrien County, known as the Orchard Hill Sanitary
Landfill. The results of the Third Quarter 1998 groundwater sampling event revealed
elevated levels of chloride and total inorganic nitrogen in MW-101R2 on the east side of
the Disposal Area and MW-107 and EW-5 on the west side of the Disposal Area. This
event triggered Landfill Management Company to submit an Assessment Monitoring
Plan and a Response Action Plan under Rules 441 and 442 of Part 115, Solid Waste
Management, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451,
as amended (NREPA). However, Landfill Management Company is in violation of
Rule 436(1)(c) of the Part 115 Rules and Sections 3109(1) and 3112(1) of the NREPA
by causing a discharge to the waters of the State without a permit, which is or may
become injurious. A Notice of Violation was issued to Landfill Management Company on
August 8, 2000. On September 14, 2000, a Consent Order was entered between
Landfill Management Company and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to
resolve the violations. The Consent Order requires that Landfill Management Company
delineate the extent of the groundwater contamination, complete an assessment of
corrective measures and a remedial action plan. The Consent Order also requires
Landfill Management Company to complete a supplemental environmental project
(SEP), pay $5,000 in settlement of the DEQ’s claims for civil penalties, and pay $225 in
costs. The SEP will be an enhancement of the final cover system for the Disposal Area
and is expected to cost in excess of $1 million.