The agency that oversees a landfill in north-central Iowa has agreed to pay a $135,000 penalty as part of a settlement with the state to resolve a series of environmental violations.
Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s office, says the deal also requires the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency to complete several projects by the end of next year.
“It has to, among other things, install a liner in a certain part of the landfill to protect surface water and groundwater,” Greenwood said. The settlement addresses pollution control violations that the state alleges date back to at least 2007
“Some of the state’s most serious concerns had to do with putting several thousand tons of solid waste in areas that the state did not approve of…areas that did not have an approved liner,” Greenwood said.
Operators of the landfill, located south of Fort Dodge, will also install a year-round seepage collection pipe. In addition, the landfill has agreed to complete construction of a projected $700,000 household hazardous materials regional collection center.
Greenwood says the agency must also submit a compliance report that certifies completion of the projects required under the settlement reached in Webster County District Court.