ADEM orders temporary closure of Cherokee landfill

CHEROKEE, Ala. (WAFF) - The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) ordered the Cherokee Industrial Landfill to close Tuesday.

According to WAFF’s newspaper partner, The Times Daily, the order states that the landfill cannot reopen until leachate levels are reduced in landfill cells and storage tanks. Leachate is liquid waste that forms in landfill cells.

ADEM is also requiring the landfill operator to ensure that the waste is covered with an “earthen cover.” Per ADEM regulations, landfills must cover the waste with at least six inches of compacted soil.

The facility currently cannot accept waste from residents or contractors as a result of ADEM’s order.

Members of the Tri-Cities Solid Waste Disposal Authority are expected to meet in an emergency session Wednesday to discuss the Cherokee landfill.

Colbert County Commission Chairman Tommy Barnes, who chairs the Shoals Solid Waste Authority, said the county has an agreement to dump waste at the Franklin County Landfill if necessary. Barnes also told the Times Daily that he was surprised ADEM did not consider there is currently an effort to develop a leachate treatment system at the facility.

Officials hope a leachate treatment system will be operational at the landfill by the end of March.

According to the Times Daily, people can take waste to a regional landfill in Courtland. The Florence landfill, however, can only accept waste from inside the city limits.

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