After methane gas leak, gas monitors are distributed in 100 homes in Latonia

COVINGTON, Kentucky – Officials with the city of Covington and the Kentucky Department of Energy and Environment are monitoring an underground methane gas leak near the former Covington landfill.

The site at the corner of Decoursey Avenue and 43rd Street in Latonia is now home to the Bill Cappel Youth Sports Complex.

According to a letter sent to homeowners on Friday, authorities first got wind of the disease in July, before it spread to a nearby home.

“[The cabinet] It was also determined that the readings were not related to Duke Energy's activities,” the letter said. “The investigations conducted by the Cabinet following receipt of notification of the elevated readings do not currently indicate that landfill gas is being released into surrounding residential areas on a large scale.”

In a statement from the Kentucky Department of Energy and Environment, a spokesman said workers had installed a fume extraction system in the house, “which has addressed the issue.”

Nevertheless, “out of an abundance of caution,” about 100 Latonia residents who live near the site received free gas monitors over the weekend.

The monitors are intended to alert homeowners to elevated methane and carbon monoxide levels in and around their homes, according to a city press release.

“We're just waiting to see if this is really a serious issue,” said Madalynn Hofstetter, a resident on the border between Covington and Taylor Mill. “It's crazy that we're only finding out about this now. Like I said, we've lived here for 10 years. I walk my dogs there every day.”

Hofstetter was one of dozens of residents in the area who received neither a monitor nor a notification.

“It’s scary because three houses down they got [gas monitors] and we didn't do it,” she said. “And [our house is] just around the corner from where it happened.”

“[The cabinet] stands ready to assist any resident who notices a similar leak,” a spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Energy and Environment said in a statement.

In the meantime, officials from the Kentucky Division of Waste Management (DWM) are meeting with contractors to discuss interim and long-term remediation measures.

For residents who have received a First Alert Monitor: If your alarm goes off, all residents should evacuate the home immediately and then call 911.

Citizens with questions may contact Adam Fritsch in the Florence Regional Office at (859) 525-4923 or Jimmy Adams, Assistant Fire Chief, at (859) 292-2343.

You can read the full statement from Robin Hartman, spokesperson for Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet, here:

“Team Kentucky places the highest priority on the safety and economic well-being of its families and communities. It reacted quickly when it learned of an underground methane gas leak at a Covington residence in late July. The leak originated from Covington's old landfill at the Bill Cappel Sports Complex.

Energy and Environment Emergency Management, Division of Waste Management (DWM), Kenton County Emergency Management, Covington Fire Department and City of Covington personnel coordinated a rapid response that resulted in the installation of a vapor extraction system at the home., which has fixed the problem.

Although there is no evidence of further methane leaks into surrounding homes, the Ministry of Energy and Environment (EEC), in coordination with the municipal authorities, has, out of caution and to ensure the safety of surrounding homes, 100 First Alert monitors can be installed and used by nearby residents and are available to any resident who notices a similar leak.

The DWM met with contractor to discuss interim mitigations for methane migration at the landfill and we are soliciting proposals for landfill cover remediation.”