Owners of a dump near Lawrence will have to pay more than $34,000 in upgrades and penalties for violating clean air regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday.
The Hamm Inc. landfill, which is just outside Lawrence along U.S. Highway 59, takes solid waste from Lawrence’s municipal pickup service.
During an inspection of the landfill in March 2022, the EPA found the landfill was emitting an illegal volume of methane gas and failed to correct it.
Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change by trapping heat. But it’s far more potent. Landfills can release huge amounts of methane, contributing to both climate change and air pollution that can harm residents’ health.
David Cozad, director of the EPA region’s enforcement division, said in a news release that two of the agency’s priorities are “mitigating climate change through its regulatory authorities and reducing methane emissions from landfills.”
Cozad said the EPA was “encouraged by Hamm’s commitment to reduce emissions through its enhanced landfill cover integrity practices as a term of this settlement.”
In the news release, the EPA said Hamm Inc. will pay a $4,206 penalty and spend about $30,000 to better monitor air pollution.
Hamm Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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