Studer Community Institute

County officials close Rolling Hills landfill

May 15, 2015
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ government

No more debris can come into the Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition Debris landfill in Wedgewood, as of the close of business today. Escambia County officials are enforcing the final order issued by a special magistrate with the Office of Environmental Enforcement and temporarily stopping the flow of truck traffic onto the site. "While it appears that the management of the Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, located at 6990 Rolling Hills Road, has addressed at least some of the concerns outlined in the Magistrate’s order, Escambia County finds that Rolling Hills is not in full compliance with the Special Magistrate’s March 13, 2015 Final Order," the news release reads. "Based on that finding, the County has asked for the Sheriff’s assistance in enforcing the Magistrate’s order." In April the county fined the landfill owners for violating the magistrate's final order. The landfill began as a small borrow pit, but grew into a larger facility over time that came into conflict with the neighbors and faced numerous financial woes. Work may continue on the site to mitigate odor issues, reduce the mound and to complete screening to shield the landfill from the neighborhood. The Special Magistrate’s order found that Rolling Hills violated numerous county code provisions during the past year, including:

— Discharging a nuisance odor beyond its property.
— Failing to properly cover landfill to deprive debris of oxygen to prevent emission of offensive odors and reduce the threat of fire inside the landfill.
— Exceeding the height restriction of the facility’s permit.
— Allowing the landfill mound to become visible from beyond the property line.
— Accepting land-clearing debris in unpermitted areas

The special magistrate gave Rolling Hills specific instructions to address and correct the violations, including an order to immediately stop certain violations, instructions to address other violations and a timeline in which the corrective actions must be completed. On Thursday, May 14, county code enforcement and environmental department personnel at the site detected nuisance odors above acceptable levels. The odor also was detected by the Jerome 631X hydrogen sulfide meter – which registered a maximum level of 35 parts per billion. Also during Thursday's inspection, Rolling Hills’ staff confirmed that the height of the mound was still above the permitted height of 130 feet. County Code Enforcement and Community & Environment staff also noted three areas where the mound was still visible from beyond the property line. Code Enforcement and the Department of Community and Environment staff will continue to monitor the situation at Rolling Hills and "initiate any action it deems necessary to ensure compliance with the Special Magistrate’s ruling," the news release says. A copy of the Special Magistrate’s ruling is here. The memo from county staff detailing the current status of Rolling Hills is here. A copy of letter to Rolling Hills Construction & Demolition Debris Landfill is here.

Back to Blogs

County officials close Rolling Hills landfill

Recent Posts