Former landfill owner fined $25K for allegedly polluting creek

The owner of the former Plainwell Tissue landfill in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, has settled charges after being accused of polluting a local creek.

Daniel Burns III, from Cedarburg, is the sole member of Riley Fiontar LLC, which owns the former Plainwell Tissue landfill. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wardens say they caught him on video pumping leachate from the landfill down a hill and into Six Mile Creek, which feeds Lake Altoona.

That inactive landfill is in the town of Washington in Eau Claire County, along Highway 12. It was closed in 2007 and more than $2 million was set aside for long-term care of the landfill.

The DNR alleges that when Burns took over the landfill, the reported leachate removal dropped dramatically, from more than 520,000 gallons per year to 18-to-38,000 gallons.

Millions of gallons of pollutants are reportedly unaccounted for, reports WQOW.

In court, Burns pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in exchange for the dismissal of two others. He was fined $25,000. Another possible $25,000 fine will be considered in one year when the DNR will update the judge on his conduct.