Apr 02, 2015
DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch announced today that DEQ has awarded a contract to close the Harrelson Landfill on Russell Road in Shreveport to Murphy Brothers Trucking and Construction, LLC of Acadia, La. The landfill will be closed by placing a two foot thick layer of clay and six-inch layer of topsoil over the entire disposal area. The disposal area will then be seeded and fertilized to return the site to a more natural appearance. Following closure, the final cover will be monitored for erosion and other potential problems for a minimum of three years.
“We are pleased to reach this milestone with the Harrelson Landfill,” Hatch said. “More work has to be done, but we are certainly moving in the right direction. While we remain committed to addressing the issues at the Harrelson Landfill, be assured that we are utilizing all legal options to recover our expenses.”
“The people in the Dr. Martin Luther King area will be very pleased to know and be happy to know that the landfill will be closed. During the course of the year, their health was improved because there was no smoke,” said Sen. Greg Tarver, who represents District 39 where the landfill is located.
The landfill has been inactive since September 2014, when DEQ ordered the operator of the landfill, Harrelson Materials Management Inc., off the property so it could address the ongoing subterranean fire at the facility. DEQ then hired a third party, Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc. of Holden, to put out the landfill fire, a process that took several months. After the fire had been extinguished and monitored for several weeks, Ferrara and the State Fire Marshal recommended moving into the closure process.
DEQ has filed suit against Harrelson Materials Management Inc. and its insurer seeking recovery of funds paid by DEQ to Ferrara for firefighting efforts, plus administrative oversight costs.