DRPI Sues Delaware County Over Landfill Height

Waste Management’s Delaware Recyclable Products Inc. (DRPI) is suing New Castle County, Del., regarding an ordinance limiting the height of county landfills to 140 feet above sea level. The DRPI landfill seeks a permit modification to expand vertically from a maximum of 130 feet above sea level to 190 feet.

Delaware Public Media reports that the county limit put in place this summer only applies to the DRPI landfill, and operators claim it targets their business. In their lawsuit, landfill operators call the 140-foot limit “arbitrary and capricious”—and not related to public health. The lawsuit also claims a county councilman “dumped" documents into the County Council record last minute to help the limit stand up in court.

However, this week the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Notice of Violations released a report that claims the DRPI landfill has exceeded hourly sulfur oxides emissions limits since last fall. In addition, some area residents have complained of respiratory problems they say are caused by the landfill.

Delaware Public Media has more:

Waste Management’s Delaware Recyclable Products, Inc. (DRPI) landfill filed a complaint in Chancery Court Wednesday challenging a New Castle County ordinance limiting the height of landfills in the county to 140 feet above sea level.

The DRPI landfill in the residential Minquadale area off Route 13 is currently permitted to a maximum height of 130 feet — but has applied for permission from the state to expand to 190.

The county limit put in place this summer currently only applies to the DRPI landfill, and operators claim it targets their business.

Read the full story here.