FEATURE_UNION
HUFFINGTON
06.17.12
Esther Calhoun, a local
landfill opponent, says the
mountain of coal ash is
testament to the failure of
environmental regulators.
subsidiary with a variety of violations, including failure to prevent
gag-inducing odors and flying ash
from migrating outside the facility
and into the surrounding community. The progress of those suits was
slowed when the original owners of
the Perry County landfill filed for
bankruptcy in early 2010 — even as
the coal ash was still pouring in.
Both of Ludder’s cases are now
being heard in federal bankruptcy
court, and the facility has since
been purchased by Georgia-based
Green Group Holdings, which has
ties to Phillips & Jordan. Green
Group Holdings now runs the Arrowhead facility through a subsidiary, formed in December, called
Howling Coyote, LLC.
Mike Smith, an attorney rep-
resenting Howling Coyote, says it
was highly unlikely that the coal
ash, which was delivered to the
site wet and wrapped in plastic
liners — and quickly covered —
could have found its way off-site.
“When it was brought to the
facility, it was required to have a
certain level of moisture,” Smith
says. “As a result, the coal ash
itself didn’t really pose any risk of
becoming airborne, because of the
high moisture content. It couldn’t
have been flying around.”
Whatever the outcome of his
lawsuits, Ludder’s latest move
— arguing to the EPA that Alabama regulators violated the civil
rights of residents around Arrowhead — might take even longer to adjudicate.