Toa Alta Municipal Landfill

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The Municipality of Toa Alta has agreed to a second judicial settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the

News Releases

EPA and DOJ Settlement Will Address Problems at Toa Alta Landfill [English] / [Spanish]

Settlement Order Filed in Federal Court will Address Serious Issues at the Toa Alta Landfill in Puerto Rico [English] / [Spanish]

EPA and DOJ Seek Public Input on Potential Settlement Order to Require Immediate Actions to Address Deficiencies at Toa Alta Municipal Landfill [English] / [Spanish]

U.S. Government Calls for End of Disposing Solid Waste at Puerto Rico Municipal Landfill [English] / [Spanish]

EPA Administrator Regan Announces Initial Actions to Protect Communities Following Puerto Rico Journey to Justice Tour [English] / [Spanish]

U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ, to address environmental and public health risks at its landfill in Puerto Rico. This second settlement, called the Second Stipulation and Final Order, SSFO, requires the municipality to operate the leachate pumping system in the lined southeast cell portion of the landfill, SE Cell, and dispose of leachate removed if the existing leachate pumping system is determined to be operational. If the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, DNER, determines that the system is not operational, the municipality is required to work with DNER on other measures to address the SE Cell leachate problem. In addition, a $50,000 civil penalty is required for violations of a 2017 EPA administrative order.

EPA and DOJ have considered questions and comments received from the community during a comment period and a public meeting before making a final decision on the second settlement. The EPA continues to work with the DNER, the Municipality, and community members to protect human health and the environment. Please refer below a summary of the site background, enforcement actions, community engagement, and additional documentation.

Background

Toa Alta has operated its solid waste landfill since 1966. Most of the landfill does not have a required bottom liner and is therefore considered an “open dump.” The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA, requires all municipal solid waste landfill units to have closed their open dumps by 1998. The regulations promulgated under RCRA also require all landfills to include measures such as daily cover, leachate collection, and stormwater controls to protect human health and the environment. In Puerto Rico, the DNER is responsible for enforcing compliance with landfill regulations, while the EPA has the authority to address urgent problems at landfills which are “imminent and substantial endangerments”. To address the urgent protect human problems at the landfill, the federal government issued an administrative order in 2017 and filed a complaint in federal court in February 2021. This led to the negotiation of a Stipulation and Preliminary Injunction Order, which the court entered as an order in August 2022. The parties then proceeded to negotiate a second settlement to address issues not covered in the first court order. Below is more detailed information on the history of this proceeding.

Administrative Order

EPA Contact

Eduardo Gonzalez

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Caribbean Environmental Protection Division

City View Plaza II, Suite 7000

#48 PR165 Km. 1.2, Guaynabo, PR 00968-8069

787-977-5839 / 787-977-5865

[email protected]

Arshley K. Rey Torres

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Justice, Community Engagement and Environmental Review Division (EJCEERD)

Office: 787-977-5891

Cell: 1-631-805-4549

[email protected]

“Intermediate cover is intended to reduce groundwater contamination by reducing the amount of leachate generated.”

In June 2017, EPA issued an administrative order requiring Toa Alta to improve operations at the landfill, cease the receipt of new waste for disposal, implement health and safety measures including mosquito controls, repair the leachate collection system for the southeast portion of the landfill, and implement interim closure through application of intermediate cover.

First Settlement

In February 2021, DOJ filed a complaint in the Federal Court against the Toa Alta claiming that the conditions at the landfill were an “imminent and substantial endangerment.” In July 2021, DOJ filed a request that the Federal Court issue an order requiring Toa Alta to address various urgent problems identified as RCRA 7003 imminent and substantial endangerments at the landfill. DOJ, EPA, and the Municipality discussed a potential settlement, called a Stipulation and Preliminary Injunction Order (SPIO), to require the municipality to take action to address issues. In August of that same year, DOJ filed a similar, but slightly amended motion requesting that the court issue a preliminary injunction order.

In September 2021, DNER filed an administrative complaint against Toa Alta, to stop disposing waste at the landfill and to install a permanent cover on the landfill. In October 2021, the Governor of Puerto Rico announced a plan to address all “open dumps” in Puerto Rico, including Toa Alta. 

Between January and March of 2022, EPA and DOJ conducted a community engagement process including a public comment period and a public meeting to receive comments on a proposed preliminary order. In August 2022, a Federal Court issued the SPIO requiring Toa Alta to take immediate action to address several of these environmental issues by taking steps set out in the SPIO. The SPIO did not address the leachate problem in the landfill’s southeast cell area or the civil penalty, but required Toa Alta to take other steps, including permanently ceasing accepting solid waste for disposal at the landfill.

In June 2023, DOJ filed a motion with the court to enforce the SPIO. While the municipality had ceased receiving waste for disposal at the landfill, Toa Alta has been late in complying with certain other obligations in the SPIO, including the schedule for it to apply intermediate cover at the landfill. The following documents provide information on the signed SPIO and implementation process.

Signed Motion to Enter Proposed Stipulation and Preliminary Injunction Order (pdf) (20.9 MB)
Estipulación y Orden Judicial Preliminar (pdf) (638.7 KB)
NEW: Municipality of Toa Alta Status Report [ English ] [ Spanish ]
Municipality of Toa Alta Status Report, June 14, 2024 (English) (pdf) (136.51 KB)

Municipality of Toa Alta Status Report, June 14, 2024 (Spanish) (pdf) (187.46 KB)

Municipality Toa Alta Status Report Sept 2024 Status Rpt - English (pdf) (188.33 KB)

Municipality Toa Alta Status Report Sept 2024 Status Rpt-Spanish (pdf) (146.46 KB)

Community Engagement Summary of First Stipulation and Preliminary Order: EPA and DOJ considered the community’s input and prepared summaries of comments and responses for the public to review. The following documents provide information on the 2022 public engagement process: 

January 2022 Community Update Fact Sheet - English (pdf) (330.9 KB)
January 2022 Community Update Fact Sheet - Spanish (pdf) (396.2 KB)
Signed Motion to Enter Proposed Stipulation and Preliminary Injunction Order (pdf) (20.9 MB)
Estipulación y Orden Judicial Preliminar (pdf) (638.7 KB)
Summary of Potential Terms for Preliminary Injunction Order in Federal Case [ English (pdf) (182.1 KB) ] [ Spanish (pdf) (192.4 KB) ]
Community Meeting Invitation Flyer, February 23, 2022 - [ (English) ] [ (Spanish) ]
Presentation outlining the proposed terms of the order
Transcript of the February 23, 2022, Public Meeting [ English (pdf) (417 KB) ] [ Spanish (pdf) (354.3 KB) ]
Summary of public comments and EPA response [ English (pdf) (152.2 KB) ] [Spanish (pdf) (156.4 KB) ] 
August 2022 Community Update Fact Sheet [ English (pdf) (329.2 KB) ] [ Spanish (pdf) (501.6 KB) ]

Copies of the 2022 summary document should also be available at the Office of the Mayor, Ave. Muñoz Rivera, Esq. Calle Barceló, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, 00953. 

Second Settlement and Final Order (SSFO)

Summary: On July 9, 2024, the DOJ, on behalf of the EPA, filed the motion requesting the court to enter the Second Stipulation and Final Order with the Municipality of Toa Alta to address key remaining issues at the landfill, which as noted above, concern management of leachate in the southeast portion of the landfill and the payment of a civil penalty. The federal court judge entered this as an order on July 16, 2024.The settlement will also pave the way for the municipal preparation of a permanent closure plan for the landfill and its implementation under DNER oversight, which should significantly reduce the risks to the community and the environment. Access the signed second stipulation below.

NEW: Second Stipulation and Final Order, July 16, 2024

toa-alta-second-stipulation-and-final-order English (pdf) (1.09 MB) toa-alta-second-stipulation-and-final-order-spanish (pdf) (1.08 MB)

Community Engagement Summary of the SSFO:

NEW: EPA and DOJ sought public comment during a public comment period from Tuesday February 13, 2024, to Friday March 22, 2024, on the second agreement and final order regarding the closing of Municipality of Toa Alta (MTA) landfill.

EPA and DOJ conducted an in-person meeting on April 30, 2024, to receive further community comments on the settlement. Comments received were documented and answered in a separate document at the US Government websites. The process allows agencies to receive further input from the community. Concerns were addressed before the order was approved and filed to the Federal Court.

Documentation below: