The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has proposed a $250,000 fine, the state maximum, for the owners of a landfill north of Birmingham that burned for months earlier this year.

ADEM filed a proposed administrative order Wednesday citing the Environmental Landfill, Inc. for 90 violations of the state’s open burning and waste management laws. Each individual violation carries a maximum fine of $25,000 but ADEM cannot levy more than $250,000 in a single administrative order.

“ADEM takes these violations very seriously and is proposing the maximum $250,000 civil penalty allowed under state law be imposed against Environmental Landfill, Inc., for violations of state environmental rules related to the fire that disrupted the lives of area residents and adversely affected the environment,” the department said in an emailed statement to AL.com.

The proposed order is under public comment for 30 business days before being finalized.

But the fine also doesn’t mean the landfill owners face just $250,000 in penalties. The order states that the civil fine levied by ADEM does not shield the landfill owners from any criminal penalties related to the fire.

The fire, which began late last year and pumped smoke into the surrounding towns and neighborhoods, raged for months until finally the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was able to get the blaze under control. In its statement, ADEM said the company “will also face actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for reimbursement of its expenses for its work to extinguish the fire.”

ADEM’s order had additional conditions in addition to the fine. The order also stipulated that the landfill owners take measures to prevent illegal dumping at the site, such as fencing, “No Trespassing” signs and video cameras.

The order directs the landfill to patrol the site twice per week to watch for smoke escaping the site, to extinguish any hotspots, and develop a fire safety plan, to be filed with the department.

The landfill is also ordered to “not allow any combustible material or regulated solid waste to be brought to the site.”

“Failure to comply with the provisions of this Administrative Order shall constitute cause for commencement of legal actions by the Department against ELI for the recovery of additional civil penalties, criminal fines, or other appropriate sanctions or relief,” the order states.

How it started

The fire at the landfill was first reported on Nov. 25, 2022, Black Friday, in St. Clair County, near the Birmingham suburbs of Moody and Trussville.

Read more: Moody landfill fire timeline show problems before and after the blaze

The Environmental Landfill was only supposed to accept green waste, such as fallen trees, limbs and other vegetative debris, as well as certain inert substances like concrete. However, it accepted massive quantities of those wastes, with piles of trees stacked up to 100 feet high.

Prior ADEM inspections also showed unauthorized waste had been dumped at the site, including household garbage, scrap tires, electronics and treated lumber.

Read more: Alabama ignored warning signs at the Moody landfill before the fire

The fire primarily burned underground, in those layers of vegetative debris loosely covered in dirt, blanketing the surrounding communities with smoke for months. Local residents complained of health problems from smoke inhalation, as well as damage to their homes and other belongings from the relentless smoke.

State and local officials determined they did not have the resources to deal with the fire and the EPA responded to the scene in January after Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency.

Read more: What Alabama got wrong when battling the landfill blaze

How it’s going

The EPA concluded its actions at the site around the end of April this year.

The area where the underground fire raged was leveled and compacted with heavy equipment and covered with 2,599 truckloads of dirt from a nearby pit.

The newly compacted mound covered the still-smoldering embers of the fire and was planted with grasses to fight erosion. The underground fire is not completely extinguished, however.

An investigation by the state into its response to the landfill fire stated that “[T]he fire is expected to continue to smolder for an indefinite time, releasing occasional odor and smoke.”