CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Chesterfield County's elected leaders are publicly condemning the owners of a bankrupt landfill as state environmental regulators work to prevent what a bankruptcy trustee has called a potential environmental catastrophe.
Jim Ingle, a member of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors, did not hold back.
"The people that caused the problem were the owners of the dump. They clearly in my opinion committed some acts that I believe they should be prosecuted for," Ingle said.
Fellow board member Mark Miller agreed.
"I think the actions were despicable," Miller said.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is working with the attorney general as investigators look into the actions of the owners of Shoosmith Landfill.
DEQ Director Mike Rolband recently gave the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors an update on the situation and explained the major concerns his office is working with the bankruptcy trustee to address.
Engineers say Shoosmith is an elevated temperature landfill, which means it produces more leachate — a liquid that results from decomposing trash that can be toxic. Rolband said the rising temperature compounds the problem.
"As the temperature goes up the leachate production goes up and causes more problem and more cost to get rid of it."
Rolband showed pictures of leachate seeping to the surface of the landfill.
"These are some examples of where we've had some seep. The site overall is not this bad, but these are pictures of some terrible spots."
He also showed nighttime pictures of leachate releases.
A February notice of violation issued to the landfill by DEQ found that dark liquid with the appearance of leachate was observed discharging from the landfill in December into a conveyance leading to Swift Creek and Piney Branch, along with outfalls of suspended solids, ammonia, and zinc that exceeded legal limits. The notice raised concerns that leachate could be reaching Swift Creek, which leads to the Appomattox River.
But Rolband told reporters after the presentation that DEQ staff now questions that finding.
"There's difference of opinion on what that inspection report says. As far as we know, it does not say that. That's been our staff's interpretation."
Rolband added there is currently no indication of widespread leachate migration.
"There's no indication that there's mass migration of leachate into any of the streams or water bodies around the reservoir, including the Swift Creek."
Rolband also addressed a 50-foot mechanically stabilized earth wall on the side of the landfill that borders a neighborhood and Swift Creek. The wall enabled the landfill to increase its volume of waste, but Rolband said the elevated temperature of the landfill puts pressure on it.
"It's a bit scary, it's right next to the elevated temperature landfill."
"We've got to make sure it continues to stay stable."
Rolband said he currently has no knowledge of problems with the wall, but he explained what could happen if there was a catastrophic failure at the landfill.
"What if there was a failure, and this leachate left the site and went into the surface waters, where does it go? It goes into Swift Creek, it goes in the Appomattox and it goes in the James River. We don't want this to ever happen," Rolband said.
Rolband said there is enough money to manage the landfill through the next year, which will give all parties time to strategize a path forward, but more money will be needed.
DEQ is also proposing new regulations to ensure this situation never happens again.
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