'His nose started bleeding:' Athens residents say landfill odor is making them sick Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Skip to main content Close Download the App Get your news faster with our mobile experience Install News Weather Features This 'N That Money Watch Live Now 79 ° Fri 90 ° Sat 84 ° Search Search User Icon Watch Trump headlines midterm in Oklahoma President Trump will headline a "Trump 47 Committee Midterm Rally" in Durant, Oklahoma. WATCH READ MORE NEWS Close 'His nose started bleeding:' Athens residents say landfill odor is making them sick by Sabrina Maggiore Thu, February 24, 2022 at 6:53 PM Updated Fri, February 25, 2022 at 12:42 AM WTVC Comment on this story 0 Comment Share story Share topics: Athens Athens,Greece ENVIROSUITE LIMITED envirosuite Tad Simpson John Gentry Paul Semenoff Katie Toth ATHENS, Tenn. — It’s more than just a bad smell that residents say is traveling from the Meadow Branch Landfill and seeping into their homes at night. Athens residents say they believe  Landfill gas is making them sick. "When it comes in the house, we get ringing in our ears, and my son and a couple of nights where it was really bad in the house, his nose actually started bleeding," says Spring Creek Cove resident Katie Toth. It’s a problem residents at Spring Creek Cove have documented for quite some time. "It's definitely causing issues with the residents," says Paul Semenoff. TDEC’s website shows 8 new complaints for the landfill in just the last week. According to TDEC, they regularly inspect complaints and did find a violation for excessive leachate levels after a February 10th inspection. "I get phone calls and emails constantly from from people in the area from the county," says McMinn County Commissioner Tad Simpson. Simpson says since we first reported on the landfill in December the complaints have continued. "They said that they were going to work really hard to be a good neighbor to us. And I still don't find them being a good neighbor," saysToth. She says communication from the landfill to residents stopped some time ago. "February 9th was the last time that we heard back from landfill management," said Toth. We wanted to know what steps the landfill was taking to address resident concerns and repeatedly tried to contact the landfill over the last week. After finally connecting with general manager Tim Fadul Thursday, he told us he had "no comment at this time." As residents here have continued to report complaints, the county is now looking towards taking things into their own hands and possibly hiring a third party monitoring system. Mayor John Gentry told NewsChannel 9 that the county is waiting on a proposal to come in from a monitoring system known as "Envirosuite" According to the county mayor, they want to be able to determine if harmful gases and pollutants like methane or carbon dioxide are escaping the landfill. "The third party monitoring is just an accountability thing. It's not the, like I said, it's not the end all there's, there's so much more," says Semenoff. "It needs to be addressed. Now, Meadow Branch says that they're trying to fix it. And hopefully with this third party monitoring, if the county's able to do it, maybe it'll be another tool," said Simpson. WTVC For residents like Katie Toth and Paul Semenoff, it's a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. "I just really want them to fix the problem, I would love to have fresh air back. I am tired of having to worry about my family," says Toth. View TDEC's recent statement on complaints from the landfill below: TDEC continues to perform complaint investigations and scheduled inspections at the landfill. A violation was assigned on Feb. 15, 2022 following an inspection on Feb. 10 that found excessive leachate levels – see attached. A contractor was onsite during the inspection to add an additional sump pump to get the issue back into compliance. Interim cover was also observed during the Feb. 10 inspection, which is in addition to the required one foot of interim cover already in place. The facility continues to use six inches of soil at the working face at the end of each day. Regarding air monitoring – the source emissions test on the leachate evaporator is scheduled to take place on March 1, 2022. TDEC has ordered analyzing equipment and it is expected to arrive by mid-March. Federal Tier II testing is required every five years. The last Tier II test was performed on July 11, 2017, therefore Tier II testing must be completed again by the end of 2022. TDEC has requested that Meadow Branch complete the testing earlier than required. - TDEC Spokesperson Trending Tennessee governor halts executions after Christa Gail Pike survives lethal injection NASHVILLE, Tenn. 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