Air District Sues Acme Fill Corp. In Martinez For Excessive Methane Emissions In Contra Costa County

A landfill operator in Martinez which has been the subject of numerous past regulatory actions related to toxic waste control at the facility is again facing legal action from state pollution monitors. The company, Acme Fill Corporation, was hit with a civil lawsuit Wednesday by the Bay Area Air District, also known as BAAD, alleging that excessive methane emissions were recorded at the facility after four leaks from the landfill’s surface and one from a gas collection system that broke.

The alleged violations were discovered during an inspection in Aug. 2023, when inspectors said they discovered methane levels had reached 31 times the legal limit after a leak in the gas detection system. Another recording showed a methane surface leak from the landfill 23 times the limit the legal limit of 500 parts per million by volume (ppmv), according to the Air District’s complaint. The company operates a waste disposal facility with three parcels that include two toxic waste disposal sites that ceased operations long ago, and an active landfill that is permitted by Contra Costa County to accept certain solid waste. Acme has faced multiple civil complaints from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control spanning from the 1990s to 2021 that focused on alleged violations at the inactive toxic waste sites, which remained under monitoring for contaminants after the sites stopped receiving toxic waste in the late 1980s. Thursday’s complaint by the Air District targets emission levels at the active landfill, which is located at 950 Waterbird Way, in an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County about 3 miles east of the city of Martinez’s downtown and just outside its city limits.

“Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change,” said Air District Executive Officer Philip Fine. “We take our enforcement responsibilities seriously, and when facilities fail to comply with air quality regulations, we are prepared to pursue legal action to ensure violators are held accountable.” A call to the company Thursday requesting comment was not returned by press time. The complaint filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court names the company and 25 unidentified individuals as defendants and alleges that the gas leaks were allowed to happen without attempted correction. It seeks $87,850 in fines and costs associated with the regulatory action. The company was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars in the late 1990s for dozens of violations related to handling of toxic waste and agreed to four separate consent orders with the Department of Toxic Substances Control over the following decades, most recently in 2021, according to the department’s records.