NEW ORLEANS - Six years after Jefferson Parish officials acknowledged that emissions from the Waggaman landfill were causing noxious fumes, more than 5,000 residents from nearby communities are set to receive payments.
The payouts are part of a $4.5 million class-action settlement with Jefferson parish covering exposure between July 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2019. Payment amounts range from hundreds to thousands of dollars and will be distributed to residents by Sept.
The class-action settlement applies to residents who lived in Harahan, River Ridge, South Kenner, Metairie, Waggaman, Avondale, and Bridge City, communities all located within Jefferson Parish.
U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan’s 2022 ruling in the federal class-action case found that residents near the Waggaman landfill were exposed to at least 5 parts per billion (ppb) of hydrogen sulfide over 30-minute periods on 139 separate days between July 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019.
The court concluded that this level of exposure was capable of producing symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, sleep disruption, dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, and worry, as well as a decreased quality of life and loss of enjoyment or use of property.
Separate Mass Tort Suit
Although the parish settled the lawsuit, a separate federal case against former landfill contractors Waste Connections and APTIM continues on an individual basis. After Judge Morgan denied class certification in that case, around 1,500 residents filed a new mass tort suit in state court on June 3 in the 24th Judicial District Court. This means the claims are grouped together procedurally but treated individually with no single, class-wide judgment.
According to plaintiffs' attorney Doug Hammel, residents who previously filed class-action claims against the parish over the landfill emissions but were not part of the initial 1,500 plaintiffs in the new state court lawsuit, now have the opportunity to join the mass tort suit. They must do so on an individual basis against Waste Connections and APTIM.
Addressing the Problem
Since 2018, Jefferson Parish has invested over $10.4 million in landfill upgrades aimed at improving gas and leachate management systems at the Waggaman site.
Leachate is a contaminated liquid that forms when rain or moisture from decomposing waste filters through a landfill. It can contain inorganic chemicals, heavy metals, and other hazardous substances, making it necessary to collect, treat, and manage leachate to prevent soil and groundwater pollution and comply with environmental regulations.
The parish’s improvement efforts began in July 2018, when it approved contract modifications and launched a series of capital upgrades targeting the gas and liquid collection infrastructure.
Between late 2019 and 2020, the work included drilling and installing dozens of new gas wells—51 vertical, 40 remote, and 14 horizontal—and laying extensive piping: 10,600 feet of headers, 16,600 feet of laterals, 6,000 feet of horizontal drains, along with condensate mains and air supply lines.
Additional upgrades involved replacing damaged leachate collector systems with new pumps, valves, and risers, as well as constructing new landfill cells and support infrastructure such as compressors and condensate sumps.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) has monitored the work with regular inspections, weekly progress reports, and odor-mitigation measures during construction.
River Birch
Jefferson Parish brought on River Birch in 2019 as the landfill operator responsible for day-to-day operations, including maintaining gas and leachate systems. In 2020, River Birch assumed the remaining three and a half years of Waste Connections’ contract, and its operations are set to continue through 2037. The company is not a defendant in any of the related lawsuits.
River Birch’s responsibilities include managing emissions, repairing infrastructure, and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. Since taking over, the company has implemented key improvements such as inspecting and rebuilding leachate collectors, tuning gas extraction wells weekly to reduce emissions, repairing hurricane-related damage, routing gas from specific cells to flare stations and gas plants, and working with environmental engineers and the parish to meet LDEQ permitting and compliance requirements.
Parsons Environmental
In June 2024, Jefferson Parish also brought on Parsons Environmental to provide engineering and compliance support at the Waggaman site.
Working alongside River Birch and the parish, Parsons provides daily on-site engineering oversight, reviews system designs, and supervises construction. It ensures quality control through inspections and performance monitoring of the gas and leachate systems, manages air-permit renewals and stormwater control plans, and helps implement permit applications and LDEQ inspections.
