Air District fines Berkeley $130K for emissions violations at landfill
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District said Thursday it fined the city of Berkeley $130,000 for air quality violations at its landfill site at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley from 2019 to 2022.
The penalty covers seven violations in total: six for failures of the landfill's gas collection system and one for failing to submit emissions testing results.
"Stopping harmful landfill gases from escaping into the air is critical for the health of the community and the climate," Philip Fine, the air district's executive officer, said in a statement. "The air district will ensure that the City of Berkeley landfill meets its obligation to protect air quality and complies with all air quality regulations."
The landfill's gas collection system extracts methane and other gases created by the decomposition of organic materials and funnels them through a system of wells and pipes to a flare, which burns off the gases before they enter the atmosphere or cause odors.
The district said the problems involving failure of the gas collection system occurred due to the landfill's lack of a backup power supply during a power outage. They varied in duration from two hours to four and a half days.
On Feb. 16, the air district's hearing board ordered Berkeley to fix other problems with the landfill gas collection system, including repairing gas collection wells, upgrading inspection and monitoring procedures, conducting a drone study to search for gas leaks, and evaluating whether landfill gas is seeping offsite.