ST. MARTIN PARISH — In August of last year, KATC reported on the growing opposition from residents in Cade against the proposed expansion of their local landfill, operated by Greenpoint Incorporated.
To read that story click here.
The expansion plan, which has raised environmental and health concerns for some residents, led community members to push for a public hearing with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). On Thursday, they finally got their chance to voice their concerns.
Jake Ercheverria, a new resident of Cade who moved to the area with his family from Arizona, shared a troubling experience related to the landfill’s impact. Ercheverria described finding pieces of waste from the landfill in his yard. "I come home to Styrofoam in my backyard, and it’s very disheartening when my kid is coming out waving the long strip of packaging as if it was a toy," Ercheverria said.
Howard Rattlaff, a longtime Cade resident, expressed his frustrations with the current impact of the landfill. "It has a substantial impact on us just day to day, there’s dust that comes off and it’s just getting progressively worse. The threat of expanding the dumpsite, or landfill, feels real threatening to the community," Rattlaff stated. His concerns reflect the broader unease felt by many residents living near the landfill.
In March of the previous year, Greenpoint's general manager, Sean Day, submitted a solid waste permit modification application to the DEQ, stating that the landfill would reach its capacity within a year. Day requested permission to increase the landfill's existing height to accommodate more waste. However, Rattlaff and other residents expressed strong opposition to the expansion. "The response that we’re hoping for is that this request not be granted," Rattlaff added.
Despite the concerns raised by residents, Sean Day assured the community that the landfill would continue operating within its existing footprint. "We’re still within the footprint of the landfill, the footprint of the landfill is not changing," Day clarified, aiming to address concerns about the scope of the expansion.
The meeting also featured comments from Earl Walker, a Cade resident who lives next to the landfill. Walker says he’s been dealing with the effects of the landfill for more than two decades, particularly concerning odors and air quality. "Nobody listens to us and you know this is wrong. We’re not asking for anyone to pick us up; we’re just asking for y'all to let us live," Walker said.
Walker also shared his personal experience with the landfill’s impact on his daily life, stating, "I don’t have no problem with Greenpoint at all, I don’t have a problem at all, but I live next door. I have to inhale this, I have to smell that."
In response to the community’s concerns, Sean Day acknowledged that dust is produced at the landfill but emphasized that they are doing their best to manage it. "Do we make dust? I’m sure we do, but we do our best to contain it to the site, but I will say we’re not the only contributors of dust; there agriculture all over the whole area " Day explained. He also attributed the occasional odors to challenges in managing certain areas, stating, "The reason for the odors is we can’t get to those spots sometimes immediately because it’s raining two and a half to three inches."
Although the hearing allowed both the community and Greenpoint to present their statements to a hearing officer, who will submit the feedback to the DEQ for further consideration, local residents expressed hope that their message would be heard loud and clear.
While the final decision on whether Greenpoint will be granted the permit to expand the landfill was not made at the meeting, the hearing marks a key step in the Department of Environmental Quality’s decision-making process.
