Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The Tullytown Landfill class-action lawsuit has ended with Waste Management agreeing to pay $2 million to settle.
The tentative settlement agreement with landfill operator Waste Management states $1.4 million of the $2 million settlement will be set aside for residents in Lower Bucks County and Burlington County, New Jersey. Attorney fees will reach as high as $600,000.
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The settlement came after the class-action lawsuit was filed by property owners and residents on both sides of the Delaware River in 2014. The residents complained the odor from the Tullytown Landfill has hurt the values of the properties and the right to enjoy their properties.
“The Defendant (Waste Management) has denied and continues to deny all claims of wrongdoing or liability arising out of the allegations and claims asserted in the lawsuit,” according to the law firm that represented the plaintiffs.
As part of the agreement, which still needs final approval from a federal judge, Waste Management will install and operate two turbine odor misting systems, work to apply odor control on weekends, power wash the docks and walkways at the Florence Township Marina bi-monthly and not seek to modify the permit to accept wastewater treatment sludges for disposal at the Tullytown Resource Recovery Facility. The improvements will cost Waste Management more than $600,000.
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“We remain committed to being a good neighbor and this commitment will continue while we complete our disposal operations at Tullytown by May 2017 and during all future operations here in Bucks County,” Waste Management spokesman John Hambrose told NJ.com.
The smell from the Tullytown landfill made national news in 2014 when the lawsuit was filed.
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Months later, Waste Management announced the Tullytown Landfill would close May 22, 2019. Several other landfills in Falls Township will remain open and are expanding.
In summer 2015, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Waste Management $528,000 for violations at its Bucks County landfills. Officials from the DEP said various penalties are being assessed due to odor nuisance violations at Tullytown Landfill and leachate storage violations at GROWS, GROWS North and Tullytown Landfills.
Residents who live in certain sections of Bristol Township, Falls, Tullytown and Burlington County will be able to fill out a claim form to apply to receive a settlement. The Burlington County Times reports the settlement amount per qualifying properties will be $83.
Click here to see the claim form.
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The claim form needs to be postmarked to law firm of Liddle and Dubin by February 3.
A final fairness hearing on the tentative settlement agreement will be held March 2.
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Below is a map of the area eligible for the class-action settlement:
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