Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A big town hall meeting was held Monday night regarding a proposed landfill expansion in Salem Township.

Arbor Hills Landfill is located on 6 Mile at Napier Road in Salem Township at the Washtenaw County line and borders Northville Township. It’s operated by Green for Life Environmental or GFL.

The landfill is reaching capacity and the end of its permitted life in roughly five years and is looking to expand. The company owns land directly to the north of the existing site.

On Monday night, a town hall meeting was held by concerned residents in nearby Northville.

Residents raised environmental concerns, including PFAS contamination, close proximity to a school, as well as odor and truck traffic – saying “the dump needs to be shut down”.

The group The Conservancy Initiative is involved in opposition efforts and organized the town hall. Its website states the group’s “primary goal is to prevent a new landfill from being permitted at the site”.
There have been complaints, violations, and lawsuits over the years.

A violation notice was issued in November by the Water Resources Division of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. That was for violations of GLF’s general permit in 2019 regarding issues with soil erosion and sediment discharge. Significant work was said to have been done over the past couple of years to address various items.

The prior operator, Advanced Disposal, was the subject of a state lawsuit for failure to comply with regulations. That was later settled with GLF after it took over operations.

The state’s website says:
“EGLE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) have conducted several investigations of the landfill. Due to continued noncompliance, EGLE and the Michigan Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit against the landfill in October 2020. In March 2022, EGLE and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office signed a settlement agreement with AHL in the form of a Consent Judgment. EGLE staff continues to respond to complaints and concerns filed by residents near the landfill and conduct on-site investigations as well as regular inspections and compliance activities”.
Messages seeking comment were placed with GFL.

More information is in the provided links.

Photos: The Conservancy Initiative & Google Street View