EPD Fines Macon $35,000 for Land-Fill Violations

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Environmental Protection Division fines are putting a $35,000 hole in the city of Macon’s pocket.

The big bill comes after two inspections of the Macon land-fill resulted in low scores for environmental violations. Public Works Director for the city, Richard Powell, says the state agency came down in June 2011 and gave the city several months to fix the problems. EPD came back in the fall, but standing water and a lack of grassing on the south side of the land-fill were two problems that kept the score too low to avoid fines.

“What we have to do now is make sure employees are working real hard bringing the landfill up to par, and score an 80,” says Powell.

Since EPD first visited in June, Powell brought the score from a 45 to a 60. He says he’s working to get the south side of the landfill up to EPD standards to ensure no fines are handed down when they return in October.