On September 23, 2008, Riverkeeper commended the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for responding quickly to halt the illegal discharge of landfill leachate into wetlands and the Hudson River from Lehigh Northeast Cement Company’s closed cement kiln dust landfill in Catskill, NY. On September 10, 2008, the DEC and Lehigh Cement entered into an Order on Consent in which Lehigh (1) admitted to violating provisions of the state Environmental Conservation Law, (2) agreed to pay a penalty of $50,000, (3) agreed to implement measures to contain and treat leachate from its landfill, and (4) agreed to remediate damage to adjacent wetlands where sediment deposited by the leachate was found to be up to one foot thick.

The DEC first became aware of this pollution on July 10, 2008, when Riverkeeper served notice of its intent to sue Lehigh Cement Company for ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). By notifying Lehigh of its intent to sue, Riverkeeper commenced the 60-day and 90-day waiting periods required before a citizen can bring suit against a polluter under the CWA and RCRA.

During the 60-day required waiting period following the filing of a Notice of Intent to Sue (NOIS) under the CWA, the alleged polluter is given an opportunity to come into compliance with the law, and state and federal officials are given an opportunity to bring their own enforcement action. Following the filing of its NOIS, Riverkeeper worked cooperatively with the DEC, providing the state with the evidence uncovered during its investigation. The DEC and Lehigh reached a settlement and entered into the Order on September 10, exactly 60 days after the NOIS filing after which Riverkeeper could have initiated a formal suit under the CWA.

The DEC Order requires Lehigh to implement a permanent plan to contain and treat leachate from its landfill and develop and implement a plan to remediate the contaminated wetlands. Riverkeeper will monitor the ongoing remediation to ensure that this sensitive habitat is protected and restored.

Riverkeeper’s investigation into these discharges began after a helicopter patrol of the Hudson River in 2006 revealed bright golden colored ponds on Lehigh’s property which were located between a closed landfill and the Hudson River. Subsequent investigations exposed the fact that leachate from Lehigh’s landfill flows into the ponds and dumps directly into wetlands and the Hudson River. The leachate is caused when water percolates through cement kiln dust (CKD) buried in the landfill and picks up CKD contaminants, which include pollutants such as antimony, arsenic, barium, lead, chromium and mercury. Elevated pH levels in and around Lehigh’s ponds and wetlands are toxic to fish and approach the Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold for corrosive hazardous wastes.