RICHMOND, Va. — A notice of violation issued by the City of Richmond has created a new obstacle in efforts to prevent a bankrupt Chesterfield landfill from becoming an environmental catastrophe.
Chesterfield County
Bankrupt Virginia landfill poses potential environmental catastrophe
Scott Morris, head of Richmond's Department of Public Utilities, issued the NOV on July 2 to Aqua Clean Environmental LLC, doing business as Reco Biotechnology, a private wastewater processing company located near Gilpin and Whitcomb Courts.
Aqua Clean Environmental LLC had been processing a portion of the approximately 65,000 gallons of leachate collected daily at the Shoosmith Landfill in Chesterfield before discharging it into the city's wastewater system.
The notice of violation alleges the company violated its permit and city code by discharging the landfill leachate. Leachate is the liquid that results from the decomposition process, and what it contains depends on what has been dumped in the landfill over a number of years.
That liquid must be constantly collected and hauled to a treatment facility so it does not leak into nearby creeks, which could ultimately lead to the Chesapeake Bay.
A February NOV from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality found that dark liquid with the appearance of leachate was observed discharging from the landfill in December into a drainage channel that leads to Swift Creek and Piney Branch.
The area where the leachate could end up has both recreational public use and drinking water use, raising serious concerns about how much leachate is getting into the water.
The city demanded Aqua Clean Environmental LLC immediately stop accepting the leachate.
In a court filing submitted by the bankruptcy trustee handling landfill operations, the trustee said she is exploring alternative processing options. A facility owned by the same company in another state would accept the leachate, but at a significantly higher cost. The trustee has described the available bond funds to manage the landfill as woefully inadequate.
The Virginia General Assembly recently allocated enough money to pump, haul, and treat the leachate for two years — but that funding was based on the lower cost of processing it at Reco Biotechnology in Richmond, not the more expensive out-of-state facility.
"It's not something we can afford to wait and see. The risk is quite high if we don't act really soon to get a handle on this situation, to make sure the state is putting appropriate resources in place to manage this cleanup and make sure it happens appropriately," Jameson Brunkow with the James River Association said.
DPU spokeswoman Rhonda Johnson said the city met with Aqua Clean Environmental LLC yesterday to discuss a resolution.
The city agreed not to pursue a civil penalty, and said it would pursue a permit modification that would allow the facility to process leachate under clearly defined conditions.
It's unclear how quickly the permit modification could happen.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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