Ongoing battle: Concerned residents asking for landfill compensation

Apr. 11—EAU CLAIRE — Nicki Gingras grew up in the town of Seymour enjoying activities like skiing, riding horses and swimming in Lake Altoona. A few decades later, though, Gingras worries the way of life she knew is being lost.

Gingras and many of her neighbors are concerned about Seven Mile Creek Landfill and the effects they say it has had, and will continue to have, on the scenery and Seymour residents.

"You're seeing something that's beautiful keep getting destroyed," Gingras said.

The landfill, which opened in 1978 as a county-owned site, has steadily grown this century. It took in an average of more than 1,100 tons of waste per day in 2019 from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

That volume will likely continue for several years if a proposed expansion occurs. The expansion would increase the landfill's size from about 10.56 million to 14.69 million cubic yards, expanding it by nearly 40%. The expansion would increase the area where trash can be dumped by 12.5 acres and allow it to be piled more than 60 feet higher than currently allowed, potentially bringing the landfill's total height to 1,165 feet.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources last June issued a report determining that the proposed expansion is feasible and "should provide for satisfactory solid waste disposal" if certain environmental conditions are met. The DNR is currently reviewing a plan of operation submitted by the landfill, which includes how the expansion will be built, post-expansion operations and a landfill closing plan.

The DNR should issue a decision on the plan by the end of May, according to John Morris, DNR waste materials management program supervisor for the northern and west central regions of Wisconsin. Morris said if the expansion is completed, the landfill will operate for about another decade.

Ongoing negotiations

The DNR determined the expansion is environmentally feasible, yet some Seymour residents fear it will add to ongoing issues like noise, vermin, odor and litter.

Six residents who spoke to the Leader-Telegram are members of the Seven Mile Creek Neighborhood Association and oppose the expansion. Residents know they cannot stop the expansion from occurring, so they believe property value guarantees and annual sociological payments should be in place for anyone who lives within one mile of the landfill. Neither of those are currently in place.

Property value guarantees and annual payments are local control topics separate from the DNR review process. Local controls are being negotiated by the Seven Mile Creek Landfill Siting Committee and GFL Environmental, a private Canadian company that has owned the landfill since fall 2020.

Expansion on the northeast end of the landfill site cannot begin unless local control negotiations are settled and the DNR approves the landfill operation plan. Local control negotiations also require final approval from the Seymour Town Board, Eau Claire County Board and Eau Claire City Council.

The DNR inspects the landfill multiple times during expansion construction and must approve a final construction report. Only then can waste be put in the new area.

It is uncertain when local control negotiations will be finalized. They began in 2019, and GFL took over the expansion proposal last year. Doug Kranig, chairman of the Landfill Siting Committee, said the ownership change and COVID-19 pandemic slowed down negotiations, which the committee had hoped to finish last year.

Last week's election could affect how things proceed. Kranig, who lost the Seymour Town Board chair election to Jessica Janssen, remains chairman of the siting committee. That could change depending on what the town board decides to do.

Anders Helquist, attorney for the Landfill Siting Committee, submitted the committee's most recent proposal to GFL Environmental this February. Helquist said it included an increased tonnage fee paid from GFL to the town of Seymour, Eau Claire County and the city of Eau Claire; property value guarantees for landowners within three-fourths of a mile from the landfill and annual sociological payments of $1,500 for landowners within three-fourths of a mile from the landfill. Other aspects include enhanced litter control; an odor suppression system; visual impact mitigation; potential solar energy development; and post-landfill use as a conservancy.

The next step involves GFL making a counteroffer to the committee's proposal, the timeline of which is unknown. GFL could not be reached for comment.

The proposal from the siting committee, which is composed of representatives from the town of Seymour, Eau Claire County and city of Eau Claire, is similar to requests in a Feb. 16 letter from an attorney representing the Seven Mile Creek Neighborhood Association. There are differences, though, most notably who is included in property value guarantees and annual payments.

The Neighborhood Association, a group of about 100 residents who live near the landfill, proposed property value guarantees for residents within one mile of the landfill. It also proposed annual payments of $3,500 for residents within a half-mile of the landfill and $2,000 for those between a half-mile and one mile of the landfill. According to the attorney letter, "reducing the radius of homeowners eligible for sociological payments or property value protection from one mile to three-fourths of a mile excludes 31% of the neighbors."

Transparency, representation

The Neighborhood Association also seeks more transparency, noting that the most recent Landfill Siting Committee meeting open to the public occurred in February 2020. The attorney letter asked that the committee "immediately post every offer and counteroffer exchanged between the landfill and the siting committee online, as well as any information shared between the two parties."

"If the process is not transparent, the result will lack legitimacy," the attorney wrote.

Residents near the landfill do not feel they have been adequately represented on the local committees, which is why the Neighborhood Association requested one of its members be appointed to the siting committee and the Seven Mile Creek Landfill Standing Committee, which oversees the landfill.

"Our voice in this has been silenced," said Kathy Campbell, Neighborhood Association member. "Our feeling as a group is that we've been shut out of the process, and as a result we were shut out of any protections the process would've given us, and we can't allow that anymore."

Campbell said someone directly impacted by the landfill would provide better representation for the residents most affected and increase trust between residents and GFL.

Kranig, the siting committee chairman, does not think it is necessary to have a Neighborhood Association member on the committees, saying affected residents often express their views.

"We hear those concerns all the time," Kranig said. "They can talk with the standing committee any time. We have public comment periods at every open meeting ... We have pretty much heard from everybody."

Resident concerns

Kranig also said one mile from the landfill is likely too far to receive annual sociological payments.

"Typically, people that distance away are not affected," Kranig said.

Residents disagreed. Roxanne Backowski lives about one mile from the landfill and said she often deals with noise, litter and odor while trying to enjoy the outdoors. Backowski and her husband moved to the area about four years ago and liked the rural privacy it afforded them.

Indeed, all residents told the Leader-Telegram they enjoy Seymour's natural scenery and want to preserve it.

"It's a really family-oriented area with a lot of really good people," resident Pamela Novak said. "We have a beautiful home. We want to keep it that way."

Kathy and Dennis Campbell, who live about a half-mile from the landfill, moved to Seymour in 1996, attracted by the peaceful surroundings.

"If it weren't for the landfill, it would be a beautiful area," Dennis Campbell said. "As it gets bigger, the problems multiply exponentially."

Seymour resident Tony Kornfeind, who lives about a mile from the landfill and was drawn to the area's seclusion, agreed.

"The bigger this thing gets, the scarier it gets," Kornfeind said. "Driving by the dump and seeing that big mound of trash, it's like, 'Wow ... when is it going to stop?'"

Property value impact

Those concerns are why Neighborhood Association residents are fighting for annual payments and property value guarantees, which ensure that homeowners receive fair value in a sale.

Kranig said no study has shown the negative impacts on property values near Seven Mile Creek Landfill, but national reports indicate otherwise. According to a 2005 study by Richard Ready, then a professor at Penn State, the closer a person lives to a landfill, and the larger the landfill is, the more likely a person's property value will be negatively impacted.

"Landfills that accept high volumes of waste ... decrease adjacent residential property values by 12.9% on average," Ready wrote. "This impact diminishes with distance at a gradient of 5.9% per mile."

The study defined high-volume landfills as those that accept more than 500 tons of waste per day. According to Morris, a 2019 annual report shows Seven Mile Creek Landfill accepted 416,623 tons of waste that year, about 1,141 tons per day.

The study found that "99.8% of high-volume landfills would be expected to have negative impacts on nearby property values."

Daily impacts

Gingras said many Seymour residents don't live close enough to be directly impacted by the landfill, so they may not believe all of the Neighborhood Association's concerns.

"It really does affect us, and we're not just saying it to say it," Gingras said. "If we didn't care and if it didn't affect us, we wouldn't be going to all these extremes."

Supervisor Joe Knight represents the area on the County Board. He lives about three miles from the landfill, far enough away to be unaffected, but said he believes his constituents who reside close to the landfill.

Knight thinks people living near the landfill should receive some type of payment. The town, county and city all receive money from tonnage fees, "but the people who bear the brunt of the cost aren't being compensated," Knight said.

Tonnage fees are paid by the landfill owner to the town of Seymour, Eau Claire County and city of Eau Claire. The fees help pay for effects like wear and tear caused by garbage trucks on county roads. The siting committee's most recent proposal involves raising the fee from about $1.70 to $3.35 per ton of garbage.

Neighborhood Association members support the three municipalities receiving tonnage fees, and they also want compensation for the costs of residing near the landfill. Those costs most often occur in the form of noise, bad odor, poor aesthetics and litter. A perk is that Seymour residents can dump their waste at the landfill free of charge for a few hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but residents say that is one upside compared to several downsides.

Morris said odor and noise will continue but not worsen if the landfill expansion is approved. He added that the landfill plan of operation anticipates daily waste volume staying the same after the expansion.

Kranig said issues like dust and litter have improved but that bad smells are very tough to fully remove. Residents agreed that the litter problem has gotten better but said it hasn't gone away.

Novak, who lives about a mile from the landfill, said litter is a constant nuisance and that she often picks up debris in her yard.

"We take pride in our property, and we don't need it scattered with litter," Novak said.

Moving

That raises a question: if living near the landfill is so bad, why not move away? Residents said that is far easier said than done when many have strong connections to the area.

The Campbells said they haven't seriously considered moving because they were repeatedly assured over the years by landfill operators that the landfill would close. That has not happened, and the expansion would likely add a decade to the landfill's lifespan. The Campbells want to retire at their current home, but if the landfill continues to grow, they aren't sure they will.

Another factor is that, without property value guarantees, it is uncertain how much demand would exist to purchase a house near a growing landfill.

"We're in a tough spot," Kathy Campbell said. "Do we continue to invest in a home and try to sell it with the idea that we might get a lot less than what it's worth (or) maybe not even be able to sell it?"

Novak plans to retire at her current home and called it unfair to potentially face the choice of leaving, but she said her family may consider it if landfill impacts worsen.

"It's like we're being forced to move just so we can have a decent, healthy life without all this noise and litter and smell," Novak said.

'Keep pushing'

Residents said the multitude of landfill issues sometimes make them feel powerless.

"It makes you feel like ... you have no control over your surroundings," Gingras said.

Backowski agreed.

"The stressors of being a homeowner are amplified by what seems like an uncontrollable negative impact," Backowski said.

Kornfeind called it an uphill battle for Neighborhood Association members to make their voices heard, but they "gotta keep pushing," he said.

The situation presents difficulties, but residents will continue advocating for what they believe is fair compensation.

"It's not too late," Kathy Campbell said. "We just have to have that (siting) committee stand strong and say, 'You gotta take care of these people.' Hopefully that's going to happen, and it'll have been worth all of this time and effort."