Complaints of foul odors around Findlay's Imperial Landfill have spiked recently, but landfill officials haven't pinpointed the source of the stink.

"We had a great run there for a while," manager Brent Bowker said March 3 during a meeting with residents and health officials. "We don't know what happened."

The 122-well methane gas collection system is working better than ever, he said, so officials with Republic Services/Allied Waste are looking at other possible causes.

People living and working near the Boggs Road landfill said they are frustrated by the persistence of malodors, which have been the focus of hundreds of complaints over the past year.

"The smells are the same - or worse," said George Mary of North Fayette.

West Allegheny school director Anne Bolind said the stench is more than a nuisance to the students and teachers in nearby Wilson Elementary School, but the district cannot afford to relocate the building.

"We're in such a horrible dilemma right now," Dr. Bolind said. "Are we supposed to just let these poor kids play on a playground that smells like garbage?"

The Allegheny County Health Department has issued the landfill two violation notices this year, air quality program manager Jim Thompson said.

"Something different is occurring these past two months that we're concerned about," Mr. Thompson said.

Many complaints have correlated with spikes on a hydrogen sulfide monitor inside the elementary school, he said.

Between Dec. 4 and Feb. 24, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued six violation notices related to offsite odors and other offenses, said Mike Forbeck, environmental program manager for the DEP's Bureau of Waste Management.

"Obviously, there's more that needs to be done [by the landfill]," Mr. Forbeck said.

Landfill managers hosted a meeting March 3 with the landfill's nine-member Citizens Advisory Committee in the North Fayette Community Center. The panel includes township and school representatives, parents, teachers and residents.

About 20 concerned neighbors attended the gathering, along with county health and state environmental officials.

In the past year, the landfill has spent more than $1 million to identify and correct odor problems, Mr. Bowker said, and fewer complaints were reported from summer through early winter.

"We've made a lot of progress," Mr. Bowker said. "We're not skimping on any manpower or equipment."

He outlined improvements to the landfill's gas collection system, including drilling 10 new wells, re-drilling 23 existing wells, burying pipelines and installing a 635-horsepower generator capable of running the system for up to a week during a power outage.

The landfill also capped an 11-acre garbage heap, bought a misting system for easing trash smells and installed airtight lids on leachate tanks along Boggs Road, he said.

"We think some progress has been made, but we're still not satisfied," Findlay Assistant Manager Chris Caruso said.

Several teachers, parents and residents reiterated ongoing assertions that the landfill is a health risk. They said air testing and other studies have not convinced them otherwise.

Wilson teacher Denise Cartisser said she was to begin a doctor-advised leave of absence this week because the landfill agitates chronic health problems. She called for more indoor air monitoring of landfill gases.

Fellow teacher Holly Smith, of Kennedy, said she left her job late last month because of her doctor's concerns. She is pregnant and due to deliver in about four months.

"I can't work because the air in the building affects my health," Mrs. Smith said. "It is so upsetting."

A Robinson Road family said they will move away from the landfill this summer because the odors are unbearable and their children get frequent headaches.

Starting Monday, the DEP's mobile lab will spend a week testing the air around the landfill, focusing on the school grounds from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight, when most of the complaints have been occurring, DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said. Similar testing was done last year.

County inspectors will begin routine nighttime checks to help determine the source of the odors, officials said last week.

County and state officials expected the landfill to sign consent orders this month that will levy fines against the landfill and require mitigation efforts. The enforcement measures are based on multiple violations last year, including 12 issued by the DEP.

Increased air monitoring likely will be included in a revised nuisance control plan the landfill has submitted to the DEP, Mr. Forbeck said.

Landfill officials said they plan additional actions to identify and curb odors, including capping eight more acres of trash, purchasing less porous soil cover from an outside source and odor-scanning the entire landfill, including older, inactive areas.

They also plan to apply to the DEP to shift the active trash dumping area away from the school, to the north end of the 164-acre property.

"We're going to continue to work at this until we get it corrected," Mr. Bowker said.

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