COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has created an action plan to fix a fume issue emanating from a Collierville landfill.
The smell primarily affects the Halle Plantation subdivision.
“We do have a pretty bad problem with the smell,” one woman said.
Neighbors describes it as smelling like rotten eggs.
A company called EPLEX owns the landfill on Shelton Road.
According to town officials, the facility takes construction debris like old roofing and drywall.
It’s been there since the 1980s, but officials said the stench started 5 years ago.
“Certain days are worse and I’m not sure if it’s when the humidity is up,” one woman said.
In fact, officials said it gets the worst in the winter.
“It’s an odor and you can smell it and it’s an air quality issue,” said Mark Heuberger, public information officer for Collierville.
WREG uncovered a letter from January showing TDEC responded to neighbors’ concerns by taking a site visit to the landfill.
They made an action plan for EPLEX, suggesting they “begin immediately to place a 12-inch layer of soil on an approximate two to three acre area” and start telling customers to start separating out drywall material that contributes to the smell. TDEC also said it will survey the landfill and close certain parts that are too full.
But town officials didn’t leave everything up to the state.
“We engaged a law firm who specializes in environmental law. Trying to get a plan to be accountable,” Heuberger said.
TDEC officials said they’ll start doing monthly visits to the facility. They said the rain slowed down some of the changes meant to be implemented in February.
WREG contacted Norman Brown, the owner of EPLEX, but did not hear back.
