After a short field trip to the sewer treatment plant and to the old rock barn the city recently purchased from the state, the Fulton City Council returned to chambers Tuesday night to find out the city once again is facing a fine for non-compliance at the city landfill, which currently is under closure.
Solid Waste Manager J.C. Miller gave council members an update during their regular meeting.
"On June 29 we did a gas sampling at the landfill and (Well No.) 5 got a hit," Miller explained. "I did contact DNR and they came out and sure enough, we're in excess. We're going to have a fine, and we have to try to figure out what to do to get that well back in compliance.
Councilman Richard Vaughn asked Miller whether the city had checked the well since June 29.
"We have been checking it daily," Miller said, adding that readings have been "changing a lot."
"It will measure 0 percent methane on one reading and then on the next pop up to 35 percent, then drop back down," Director of Administration Bill Johnson confirmed. "It's bouncing all over the place. DNR has been out and they don't have any idea. We're doing a lot of experimenting (to find the cause of the problem)."
In other landfill-related news, Miller noted that despite the addition of 120-150 tons of mulch, the grass cover - while still there - still is not growing.