Back in June, a local protest group known as Stop the Shepherd Landfill, filed an official lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The group hopes to prevent the landfill from operating in January.
Pacific Steel and Recycling (PS&R) plans to open the new private landfill site on January 1, at the corner of Highway 87 and Shepherd Acton Road.
PS&R has been using the Billings Regional Landfill to store ASR (Auto Shredded Material). The proposed Shepherd landfill will house new ASR material, as well as old material that's currently at the public landfill and the company's facility in Lockwood.
Members of the Stop the Shepherd Landfill have expressed concern about the ASR material. The group said it will be the only such landfill in the U.S., collecting items such as refrigerators or cars from other states.
ASR has the potential to carry permanent and harmful chemicals known as PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to PFAS can lead to negative health effects including interference with the body's hormones, increased risk of cancer, and reproductive effects.
"We've been trying to fight it. (The Montana DEQ) has been very private, fast-tracked, and if anybody is to step up and express any kind of concerns, they're stonewalled," said Patrick Hall, a local Shepherd resident.
Hall lives less than a mile from the new landfill. He's extremely concerned about the potential hazardous chemicals that may come out of the landfill, and spread due to wind.
"That stuff will carry for a longways, and (our) livestock is going to get affected, and that's a lot of people's livelihood out here," he said.
That's one of the reasons Hall joined Stop the Shepherd Landfill.
In the lawsuit, filed by Cottonwood Environmental Law, Stop the Shepherd Landfill is asking Montana DEQ to conduct a formal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
An EIS enforces a thorough investigation of the land, and would ensure a survey of any hazardous materials. Stop the Shepherd Landfill says an EIS will provide more information about ASR as opposed to the DEQ's initial survey.
"The Montana Constitution states that if there may be significant impact, then the DEQ needs to complete an EIS," says Anellise Deters, a co-founder of Stop the Shepherd Landfill.
MTN reached out to the DEQ for a statement or in-person interview, however due to the current litigation, it is unable to provide comment.
However, Mary Green with PS&R provided MTN with a statement via email: "Pacific is pleased to have received license for this facility from Montana DEQ, based on sound law and science. We look forward to opening and responsibly operating in 2025."
Stop the Shepherd Landfill hopes the lawsuit will halt the landfill from opening next year.
"First of all (we want construction) to stop, but we also want DEQ to be held accountable for what their agency is supposed to do, which is protect our environment," says Deters.
For more information or updates, visit their website.
*Editor's note: This story has been updated with some corrections.
