EDDYVILLE—Multiple complaints of fire, smoke and odor flowed into DNR’s Washington field office following a fire that started Sunday afternoon at a composting facility about 2.5 miles south of Eddyville.
A large fire on the Chamness Technology’s compost site is burning its way through shredded trees and shrubs stockpiled from the derecho storm in August of 2020. The chipped wood waste is used to soak up excess moisture (leachate) and bulk up other materials to aid in composting them.
DNR staff have been on site the last three days, observing, documenting and providing compliance assistance to help control the fires and contain runoff.
Chamness is bulldozing the derecho waste, working to spread it out and extinguish the fire. Their staff has been spraying leachate onto the fire, catching the runoff in trenches below the site.
Today, Aug. 25, DNR staff said the fire and smoke are down considerably from before. But there are still hot spots that need to be put out.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but fires caused by spontaneous combustion occurred on the site periodically through 2020 and as recently as May this year.
DNR will continue to monitor the site and consider appropriate enforcement action. Chamness Technology Inc. is currently under an administrative consent order that restricts bringing in new materials for composting until on-site improvements are completed.