Chattanooga workers lay asphalt next to the wheel washing machine on Friday at the City Landfill on Birchwood Pike. The machine is used to wash mud and dirt off of truck tires before they go back onto main roads. Residue, if left on the tires, can cause dust clouds in neighboring areas.After years of complaints from Harrison residents, Chattanooga and two private companies have been put on notice by county environmental officials for air pollution created at landfills on Birchwood Pike.
The city owns and operates a sanitation landfill there, but a construction and demolition landfill owned by the company Environmental Materials and managed by Santek Environmental of Tennessee also operates at the site.
The city and the private companies were visited Aug. 1 by an investigator with the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau after residents complained that trucks leaving the landfills were creating large dust clouds.
In the report, investigator John Schultz found dried dirt on Birchwood Pike for half a mile leading up to the landfills. Once he met with landfill managers, he found the problem.
The driveway leading away from the wheel-wash station — where trucks were supposed to have their wheels cleaned — was a muddy mess.