Forward Inc has agreed with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California to a settlement to resolve alleged violations of air pollution laws at its landfill in Manteca, California.
As per the settlement, Forward will spend about $3.8m to improve the landfill’s gas collection and control system and to replace trucks in the landfill’s fleet with less polluting vehicles.
The settlement resolves allegations that Forward violated the Clean Air Act by operating gas extraction wells in the landfill’s gas system in violation of the permit it had received from the District, and that Forward did not obtain permits required for equipment at the landfill.
EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld said the federal enforcement action requires the landfill to spend $3.8m to eliminate the risk of polluting fires and replace old diesel trucks with cleaner burning vehicles.
The settlement also requires Forward to pay a civil penalty of $200,000, to be shared with the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, a co-plaintiff in the enforcement action against Forward.
Forward will also overhaul the landfill’s gas system by November 2012 to improve gas control and collection and to bring the facility back into compliance with CAA regulations governing landfills, which will require an investment of about $1.7m.
The settlement will also benefit the San Joaquin Valley’s air and its communities by reducing emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide.