ADEM holds public hearing on proposed renewal and expansion of Dothan Sanitary Landfill permit

DOTHAN, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Environmental Management held a public hearing May 22 on a proposed renewal and modification of the municipal solid waste landfill permit for the City of Dothan Sanitary Landfill, permit No. 35-06. The draft permit would expand the facility to 506.67 acres, increase the municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal area to 74.1 acres and the construction-and-demolition (C&D) disposal area to 14.1 acres; the permit would allow a maximum average daily disposal of 400 tons.

ADEM hearing officer Tom Burks opened the session at the Dothan Civic Center and said the department had made a preliminary determination that the proposed renewal and modification "would be in compliance with the applicable state and federal solid waste disposal requirements, and thus, protective of public health and the environment," and that ADEM will consider all oral and written comments before making a final decision. Isabel Bella, speaking on behalf of ADEM's land-division staff, reviewed key draft-permit conditions including a 10-year permit term, a composite liner and leachate collection system, semiannual groundwater monitoring and quarterly explosive-gas monitoring.

Why it matters: Neighbors and their attorney told the department they oppose expansion and raised legal and environmental concerns that could affect whether the permit may be issued. An attorney for nearby landowners said a pending appeal of the local government's approval of the expansion could leave ADEM without authority to grant the permit if a court finds procedural defects.

Attorney David Letter of Tallahassee, who said he represents multiple landowners bordering the proposed expansion, told ADEM staff that the local host-government approval is on appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and urged the department to address what he described as statutory and notice deficiencies in the city decision. "If the board fails to perform its duty properly, then ADEM can't issue the permit," Letter said, citing the 2021 Lewis v. Alabama Department of Environmental Management decision as precedent. He also questioned the groundwater-elevation data submitted for the proposed cell area, saying only three monitoring points (Monitoring Well 12 and piezometers 21 and 22) are within the proposed cell footprint and that those points do not include the minimum three consecutive months of February, March and April of sampling data the ADEM rule normally requires.

Multiple residents described long-running odor, dust and wildlife problems they attribute to the existing landfill. Michael Delvecchio, who said his property touches the proposed expansion, described odors that vary by day and sometimes smell "chemical," and reported heavy dust that, he said, attracts large numbers of flies when it settles. He described buzzards and coyotes he said use the landfill and said some livestock had been harmed. Delvecchio cited a 2010 ADEM memorandum he said is in ADEM's file, saying the memo reported "representative concentrations" of metals in source-area soil samples that exceeded screening levels protective of groundwater and surface water flowing to Gulf Creek. "So in other words, the groundwater is already contaminated from what they've already done," he said.

Another resident, David Del Vecchio, described daily noise and concerns about fire risk at large landfill heights and urged the city and regulators to consider alternatives such as incineration. Deborah Walton, a resident near Weber Road, said she discovered a strong smell in a spring on her property and had come to register concern.

ADEM staff and the hearing officer repeatedly invited commenters to submit detailed written statements and technical documents; ADEM said written comments received by 5:00 p.m. on May 29, 2025, will be included in the record and that the department will respond to commenters before making a final permit decision. The department also said the draft permit includes two requested variances: one from ADEM Admin. Code 335-13-4-.022(C)(2) on maximum final cover slope (proposed 3:1 in a 20.5-acre expansion area) and one from 335-13-4-.022(1)(B) concerning confinement of waste to a single working phase; the permittee proposes two working phases, one for MSW and one for C&D waste, with both confined "to as small an area as possible." ADEM staff also noted the permittee's request to expand the overall facility boundary well beyond the specific waste-placement areas.

What is pending: ADEM's preliminary determination does not constitute final permit issuance. The department will review all oral and written comments and technical data before issuing a final permit determination and will post the decision and responses in the hearing record. Attorney David Letter told the hearing that if the appellate court overturns the city's host-government approval for the expansion, that ruling could affect whether ADEM may lawfully issue the renewed or modified permit.

The public comment period closes 5:00 p.m. May 29, 2025; the hearing transcript and written submissions will be part of the administrative record ADEM reviews in reaching a final decision.