Environment

Working Group Appointed to Learn What Went Wrong With Response to the Moody Landfill Fire

The Alabama Department of Environment Management on Friday announced the formation of a working group to assess whether changes in laws, regulations and resources are needed following the fire at the vegetative waste disposal site near Moody. In a press conference, ADEM officials said the fire revealed shortcomings in the ability and authority of state and local governments to respond to situations that are outside the scope of their regulated activities but pose risks to the public. The working group will examine the response to the fire and make recommendations for improving the ability of state and local agencies to respond to similar emergencies in the future. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Working Group to Be Announced to Consider Changes After Lessons Learned at the Moody Landfill Fire

Public leaders are set to announce today the formation of a working group to assess whether changes in laws, regulations and resources are needed in light of the underground environmental fire at a landfill in Moody. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Red Mountain Cut Features Time Capsule of Alabama’s Robust Geologic History

A national natural landmark, the road cut along Birmingham's Red Mountain Expressway documents more than a hundred million years of geologic history and was once an educational centerpiece. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Work on Landfill Fire ‘Proceeding Well,’ ADEM Director Says

ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said on Friday that smoke from the underground landfill in Moody has been greatly reduced and the EPA expects the fire to be out in a matter of weeks, or sooner. He said work on putting out the fire is proceeding well, and ADEM and EPA are continuing to monitor air and water quality in the area. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Who would put out a landfill fire near Moody? That question consumed officials for weeks.

A private landfill near Moody smoldered for almost two months, inundating residents miles around with noxious smoke, before the EPA stepped in. Read more.

by Zoe McDonald

No Water Contamination Found From Landfill Fire

Testing of water around the environmental landfill fire burning underground in Moody shows no contamination from the fire, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management reported last week. ADEM conducted instream water quality sampling at four locations, upstream and downstream of the fire in Big Black Creek and the Cahaba River, according to a press release

by BirminghamWatch

This Swampy Paradise is Alabama’s Winter Haven for Sandhill Cranes

As many as 25,000 sandhill cranes migrate to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge every winter, along with a handful of highly endangered whooping cranes. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Moody Landfill Fire Now a Federal Affair as EPA Is Called in to Extinguish Nuisance

The landfill fire in Moody is now a federal affair. At the request of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will lead the effort to put out the underground fire at a privately operated vegetative waste disposal site near Moody in St. Clair County, the agency said in a press release Wednesday. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

‘Is It Soup Yet?’: Engineer Submitting Plans for Putting Out Landfill Fire

Dan Dahlke was reminded of a 1970s TV commercial when he was asked about his submission to Gov. Kay Ivey to put out the months-long smoldering landfill fire in Moody. “Is it soup yet?” “It's getting there,” the St. Clair County engineer said Friday. “I've sent stuff over to the county attorney and I think he's putting it all together and trying to figure out exactly who we need to send this to (in) the governor's office. “When he finds that, we'll probably shoot this off to whoever this afternoon.” Dahlke has received proposals from a number of contractors with varied ideas for dealing with the fire that has been burning for about two months and irritating residents as far as 30 miles away. Residents have been complaining not just about the smell and the smoke, but about health effects such as asthma, coughing and nausea. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Lawsuit Filed Over Landfill Fire Near Moody Seeks Class Action Status

A pair of Trussville residents have filed a lawsuit over the landfill fire that’s been burning for almost two months near Moody. The suit alleges, among other claims, the owners and operators of Environmental Landfill Inc. have been negligent and calls for compensatory and punitive damages. Read more.

by Zoe McDonald