The fire at Environmental Landfill, Inc. in Moody began burning the day after Thanksgiving in 2022. The months-long fire is in the process of being smothered by thousands of truckloads of dirt and the Environmental Protection Agency says they are preparing to turn the site back over to state officials. According to Subash Patel, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA, the agency was called out to the site in January to assess the situation and help determine the best plan of attack for the several acres of rubbish burning. “We’ve been working together [with Alabama Department of Environmental Management and St. Clair County officials] to come up with a plan to address the fire and what we decided to do is basically smother the fire,” Patel said. “We’ve brought in a total of 2,600 truckloads of dirt from a borrow pit nearby and basically used that as cover to put on top of the burning areas in hopes that we can kill the oxygen that is fueling the fire.” The dirt from the nearby borrow pit, which is a pit or hole that has been dug for the purposes of removing gravel, clay, soil or sand to be used in a construction project, has now been seeded with grass seeds and, according Patel, grass is starting to grow. The seeding process is an attempt to reduce erosion of the dirt that has been placed on top of the smoldering trash. With the seeding finished and only a few hotspots still releasing smoke, Patel said the federal agency’s response will soon scale back and the site will be turned back over to state and county officials in April. Patel said the EPA ended the agency’s nearly daily air monitoring on March 24, after consistent satisfactory results. Off-site air monitors have reported significant reductions of PM2.5 and VOC levels, with periodic spikes depending on weather and ongoing fire mitigation. PM2.5 is an indicator of air pollution, and means particulate matters (PM) of 2.5 microns or less. VOC is volatile organic compounds. Despite the improved air quality by the drops in PM2.5 and VOC levels, the EPA’s website for the incident still lists helpful ways to reduce adverse reactions to the smoke. “If you have respiratory problems such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or emphysema, stay indoors when you see or smell smoke,” the site stated. “Reduce your outdoor activities, and do them more slowly, when you see or smell smoke. Close the doors and windows of your house to keep smoke from getting inside. Talk to your health care provider if you have respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, or emphysema, and you think your condition may get worse when you breathe smoke.” The cause of the privately-owned landfill fire that has been burning since November 25, 2022 is still not known at this time, and, according to Patel, may never be known. According to the EPA’s pollution and situation report published March 19, the cleanup effort cost has reached $2,021,316 of a budgeted $2,504,316.

The fire at Environmental Landfill, Inc. in Moody began burning the day after Thanksgiving in 2022. The months-long fire is in the process of being smothered by thousands of truckloads of dirt and the Environmental Protection Agency says they are preparing to turn the site back over to state officials.

According to Subash Patel, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA, the agency was called out to the site in January to assess the situation and help determine the best plan of attack for the several acres of rubbish burning.

“We’ve been working together [with Alabama Department of Environmental Management and St. Clair County officials] to come up with a plan to address the fire and what we decided to do is basically smother the fire,” Patel said. “We’ve brought in a total of 2,600 truckloads of dirt from a borrow pit nearby and basically used that as cover to put on top of the burning areas in hopes that we can kill the oxygen that is fueling the fire.”

The dirt from the nearby borrow pit, which is a pit or hole that has been dug for the purposes of removing gravel, clay, soil or sand to be used in a construction project, has now been seeded with grass seeds and, according Patel, grass is starting to grow. The seeding process is an attempt to reduce erosion of the dirt that has been placed on top of the smoldering trash.

With the seeding finished and only a few hotspots still releasing smoke, Patel said the federal agency’s response will soon scale back and the site will be turned back over to state and county officials in April.

Patel said the EPA ended the agency’s nearly daily air monitoring on March 24, after consistent satisfactory results.

Off-site air monitors have reported significant reductions of PM2.5 and VOC levels, with periodic spikes depending on weather and ongoing fire mitigation. PM2.5 is an indicator of air pollution, and means particulate matters (PM) of 2.5 microns or less. VOC is volatile organic compounds.

Despite the improved air quality by the drops in PM2.5 and VOC levels, the EPA’s website for the incident still lists helpful ways to reduce adverse reactions to the smoke.

“If you have respiratory problems such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or emphysema, stay indoors when you see or smell smoke,” the site stated. “Reduce your outdoor activities, and do them more slowly, when you see or smell smoke. Close the doors and windows of your house to keep smoke from getting inside. Talk to your health care provider if you have respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, or emphysema, and you think your condition may get worse when you breathe smoke.”

The cause of the privately-owned landfill fire that has been burning since November 25, 2022 is still not known at this time, and, according to Patel, may never be known.

According to the EPA’s pollution and situation report published March 19, the cleanup effort cost has reached $2,021,316 of a budgeted $2,504,316.