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Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
Residents living near Donald Trump's golf course project atop an
old landfill in the Bronx are worried about increasing levels of
methane. An area of the Bronx has seen a spike in explosive methane levels, and Donald Trump may be to blame.
Trump's company is developing a golf course on top of a New York landfill that was closed in 1963, New York's Daily News reported. An increase in methane gas in surrounding areas has neighboring residents concerned the volatile gas will leak into their basements, creating an explosive situation.
When the plan was proposed in 2000, a coalition of environmental groups called the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance warned construction would literally press down on the methane generated by decomposing garbage, forcing it into surrounding residential areas, according to the article. Construction was approved, and test wells were installed to track methane levels around the perimeter of the landfill.
Tons of soil were heaped on the landfill in recent months to shape the future golf course. Wells – some within yards of nearby homes – have registered a spike in levels of methane; explosive levels have been found in wells 41 times since January, the Daily News found.
Ken Bresner, a state Department of Environmental Conservation official tracking the methane, called the movement of landfill gas "an ongoing concern," according to the article.
New York City Housing Authority spokeswoman Sheila Stainback told the Daily News tests taken in September "were below pre-defined action levels."
Test well inspections have been stepped-up, but construction on the gassy golf course continues, the article indicates.
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