Pembrokeshire Council drops legal action against a smelly landfill. Residents feel abandoned and are considering suing the company.
The local council isn’t taking legal action anymore. They were going after the landfill operators, RML. The council says legal costs are too high, and a judge said they should have done something else first.
Locals are really frustrated about the smell. They even formed a group called “Stop The Stink.” Some say the smell hurts their health. Now, they’re thinking of suing the company themselves!
One local, Colin Barnett, spoke to BBC Wales. He feels the council abandoned them. He said the council hasn’t punished the company. He thinks they’re left with no other choice.
The council said they got legal advice, and this advice suggested an interim injunction was best, aiming to help the community with the odors. A judge did acknowledge the problem at a hearing. However, the judge felt the council should have issued a notice first, under the Environmental Protection Act.
The council’s lawyers disagreed with that decision and suggested appealing the decision, too. Appealing costs a lot of money, though. The council has already spent money on the case and is also paying for air quality monitoring. So, they decided not to appeal based on cost.
The council believes their legal actions helped a bit. They think it pushed the landfill to fix things faster. They suspect the company is improving the landfill because of their efforts.