HB140/SB117: LANDFILL COVER IN ALABAMA

Current law

Landfills have to apply 6 inches of earth over any solid waste that is dumped in order to properly cover the waste. Without this cover, the waste smells, and attracts vultures, flies, and other pests, including those that carry infectious disease. It also becomes litter when it blows away and leaves the landfill.

Map of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in Alabama

ADEM’s List of Permitted Municipal Solid Waste Landfills 

HB140/SB117

These bills would change the existing law so that landfills can use covers that include tarps, other types of waste, and ash. As the lawsuit proves, covering waste with something other than earth negatively impacts people who live near landfills, exposing them to stinking trash and the animals that are attracted by it. ADEM does not require landfills to prove that the alternative cover they want to use is effective. There are already concerns about how Arrowhead and Stone’s Throw landfills affect neighboring communities; HB140 would legalize a practice that is endangering those communities and others around the state. We oppose this bill and believe ADEM and the landfills should heed the judges’ ruling and stop covering landfills with materials that make living nearby even more dangerous for Alabamians.  

  • House Sponsor: Rep. Alan Baker (R-Brewton)

    • House Committee on County and Municipal Government

  • Senate Sponsors: Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham)

    • Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development

smith v. lefleur

A Civil Appeals Court decision in October 2019 ruled that ADEM does not have the authority to allow landfills to use cover other than earth.

  • Lawsuit filed by people living near Arrowhead Landfill (Perry County) and Stone’s Throw Landfill (Tallapoosa County)

  • Three judges unanimously ruled that plaintiffs were exposed to pests and offensive odors as a result of landfills using tarps instead of earth to cover waste, and that ADEM did not have the authority to allow landfills to use covers other than earth

  • Stone’s Throw takes in 1,050 tons of waste each day, including construction and demolition, ash, sludge, asbestos, and wastewater biosolids

federal law

The federal regulations on solid waste are clear that alternative covers must be proven to be safe:

(b) Alternative materials of an alternative thickness (other than at least six inches of earthen material) may be approved by the Director of an approved State if the owner or operator demonstrates that the alternative material and thickness control disease vectors, fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging without presenting a threat to human health and the environment.