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   People who live within a mile of the smelly  Bridgeton Landfill are being offered alternative housing until crews remove concrete pipe sections to get rid of the stench.

    The Post Dispatch reports the program is voluntary and will be offered to residents living in Spanish Village,  Terrisan Reste mobile home community  and certain areas of the Carrollton Village Condominiums.

     The landfill is offering to pay hotel lodging fees and taxes at an extended say hotel selected by Bridgeton Landfill officials. 

     The project is expected to last until June 14.

BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) - The operators of a landfill in St. Louis County have completed a well improvement project seeking to remove odor-causing gas that has raised concerns for those who live near the facility.

Bridgeton Landfill LLC said Wednesday that it has installed 40 new wells about a week ahead of schedule. Gas will be removed through the wells, then transported to an on-site processing facility.

The landfill sits near Lambert Airport. Residents who work and live near it have complained for months about the smell and raised health concerns.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster late last month filed a lawsuit against the landfill operators, alleging violations of state environmental laws on the 52-acre site.

Opponents of a plan to build a 400 acre coal ash landfill near the Missouri River are still trying to block it.

A circuit court judge had ruled last month that the Franklin County Commission acted lawfully when it approved zoning changes allowing the development of the landfill. Ameren Missouri has since filed for a permit to build the coal ash landfill next to its Labadie power plant.

But the Labadie Environmental Organization is now appealing the court's decision.