RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – After folks who live and work near an illegal dump site contacted CBS 6 News' Shelby Brown last week, city crews arrived Tuesday to clean up the mess.
Dozens of old tires, a handful of beat up sofas, trash bags filled with debris had been littered along one stretch of Valley Road in Richmond -- until today. [PHOTOS: Illegal dumping ground near Shockoe Valley Bridge]
CBS 6 News first reported the story of an illegal dump site on some property beneath Interstate 64 less than a week ago.
Two city work crews moved in to clear the mess Tuesday afternoon.
After community members expressed frustration about dumpers leaving their mess, Shelby Brown tried to find out who owned the land.
First, a city spokesperson said a nearby company was leasing the land from VDOT and that company would be given a notice of violation.
However, CBS 6 spoke with the owner of Cardinal Transportation who disputed that claim.
He said his company has never leased any property from VDOT and that they have nothing to do with the property that has now become an illegal dump site.
VDOT also confirmed that they never leased any property to Cardinal Transportation.
Dawn Eischen, a VDOT representative, did confirm that the area belonging to that agency is just beneath the I-64 bridge.
Eischen said they sent two inspectors out to survey the site and they have some of the illegally dumped debris on their property and they will clean it up.
The majority of the dumping is just a few feet away from VDOT’s property. A GIS mapping system notes it belongs to Dominion Virginia Power. A representative from Dominion said they own property next to that, and if trash is being dumped there, they didn’t know about it and will remove it.
But, Tuesday city work crews beat them to it.
Sixth-district council woman Ellen Robertson said it’s an ideal spot for flash cameras to go up to catch illegal dumpers in the act. She said she would also like to see signs go up, warning dumpers of the fines associated with their crime.
“The city can’t afford to be picking up illegal dumping. We need to know who's doing it so we can levy fines against the person that should be charged," said Robertson.
Robertson said if you live in the city and see a similar situation, the best thing to do is call 311 to report it and then follow up with City Hall.
“Don’t just assume someone else is going to make the call. Help us. Be a part of the process so we can get it cleaned up. We just all have to take ownership,” said Robertson.
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Do you know of spot where folks are dumping things illegally? Is this a problem near where you live?
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