Landfill that has caused conflict in rural Kansas town issued cease and desist order

Katie Moore
·2 min read
8

A landfill that has provoked friction among residents in Easton, Kansas, has been ordered to temporarily close.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a cease and desist order Wednesday to the business running the landfill, Flat Land Excavating, saying it is out of compliance with its height and volume limits and must apply for a permit modification.

The site, about 45 miles west of Kansas City, has been the source of animosity between the landfill’s owners Shawn and Christina Britz and nearby residents.

Since the couple got a special use permit and took over the landfill in 2019, local and state officials have fielded dozens of complaints: unauthorized waste, operations outside permitted hours, litter and mass instability at one of the slopes that rose nearly 50 feet and was nearly vertical.

During an inspection last year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment determined that a landfill in Easton, Kansas, had several violations. One slope was nearly 50 feet tall and improperly compacted.
During an inspection last year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment determined that a landfill in Easton, Kansas, had several violations. One slope was nearly 50 feet tall and improperly compacted.

A large fire that broke out last year continued to smolder in spots for more than a year.

The company faced a county cease and desist order last year and in January, was fined more than $6,000 for violations identified by KDHE.

Neighbors have expressed concern about their air and water quality. They also said a putrid odor is common in the area.

Residents were joined by Leavenworth County Commissioners Mike Stieben and Jeff Culbertson in a push for more oversight by KDHE.

The state agency conducted air monitoring testing in February. Hydrogen sulfide was detected at over one part per million in two locations, but was close to the ground and “not observed in the breathing zone.”

The results “showed no exceedances of landfill gas action levels established in Kansas Solid Waste Regulations,” KDHE spokesman Matthew Lara said at the time.

While KDHE said it will conduct follow up gas testing, no water testing has been carried out.

Lara did not immediately respond to a request for information about the cease and desist order.

Easton resident Sharon Wagner said she was “glad that KDHE is enforcing their regulations.”

Zack Pistora, a lobbyist with the Kansas Sierra Club, echoed that sentiment.

“The neighbors and area residents have long complained about this site for a variety of reasons,” he said. “And now it seems like they may get a little relief which is good, and we can keep the area and the ecosystems preserved.”

Shawn Britz said Thursday that the landfill has not been taking in trash for about a week.

“It’s just a slope issue, it’s just getting too steep,” he said. “We’ve been working on a plan which we will present.”

Britz said he has been on the receiving end of hateful of neighbors who want to see the landfill shut down. He says the company provides jobs and contributes taxes to the county.

“We don’t plan on going anywhere,” he said.