COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A federal jury has ordered the owner of a Lee County landfill to pay $2.3 million to six residents who say their lives have been made miserable by the stench from the 140-foot tall piles of trash.
The State of Columbia reports the landfill, owned by Republic Services of Arizona, may appeal and will ask a judge to throw out the award.
But a lawyer for the residents says he will ask the judge to close the landfill or order it to change how it operates at a hearing April 18.
During a two-week trial, people who lived near the landfill testified the smell is so bad at times they cannot stay outside.
Officials at the landfill say state regulators never had a problem with the odors.
Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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