Shoosmith landfill report weeks overdue; Governor’s office withholds draft from CBS 6

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A state report that could provide new information about the risks at the bankrupt Shoosmith landfill and what it will take to close the site remains under review weeks after its Oct. 5 deadline.

Delegate Mike Cherry (R-74th District) represents Colonial Heights and part of Chesterfield County, including the area surrounding the landfill. He said some of his constituents live in homes that back up to the property.

“Can you imagine going to sleep every night and not knowing what's going on literally right in your backyard?” Cherry told CBS 6.

The Shoosmith landfill has been described by its bankruptcy trustee as a potential “environmental catastrophe.”

Watch: Bankrupt Virginia landfill poses potential environmental catastrophe

Cherry said the General Assembly required the report through the state budget and expected it by Oct. 5.

“Every day that ticks by is a potential for there to be, you know, something happen that we really don't want to happen in our community,” Cherry said.

CBS 6 sought the report through FOIA

CBS 6 also tried to obtain the report.

Investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit filed a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request with Abigail Spanberger’s office seeking a copy.

The Governor’s Office identified one responsive document but withheld it in its entirety, describing the subject matter of the withheld record as “draft materials.”

The administration cited Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.7(2), which allows certain working papers and correspondence of the Office of the Governor to be withheld from mandatory disclosure.

Grayson Shultz, Executive Assistant and Program Manager for Natural and Historic Resources in the Governor’s Office, later told CBS 6 the requested report remains under review.

“The requested report is still under review by the Governor's Office and is not yet in its final form,” Shultz said in an email.Shultz said the final report will be distributed to news organizations that have requested it once he receives permission to release it.

Cherry said he wants to see the findings.

“We're just begging the administration, please let us have the report, let us know what's going on, so that we can take the steps necessary to mitigate the things for our community,” he said.

Years of environmental concerns

The questions surrounding the report come after months of CBS 6 investigations into environmental and financial problems at Shoosmith.

CBS 6 previously uncovered Virginia Department of Environmental Quality records showing landfill gas condensate discharged into Swift Creek in June 2021, years before the landfill filed for bankruptcy.

Those records also documented repeated leachate seeps at the landfill in the years that followed.

Watch: Records show Chesterfield's Shoosmith landfill leaked waste into Swift Creek years before bankruptcy

Jamie Brunkow with the James River Association previously spoke to CBS 6 about concerns surrounding the site's impact on nearby waterways.

“This is definitely where outrage is a warranted response,” Brunkow said. Previous CBS 6 reporting has also shown why Swift Creek matters. Brunkow has noted that waterways in the area have both recreational and drinking-water uses.

Morton Barlaz, an NC State University professor who has researched solid waste for more than four decades, previously told CBS 6 that the condensate documented in the state records was particularly concerning.

“Chemical concentrations in condensate are much higher than leachate. So discharging it to a creek, again, it's a no-no,” Barlaz said. DEQ has said the landfill is no longer accepting waste and is preparing for closure. The agency has also said current leachate is being hauled off-site for treatment.

More than $172 million in estimated costs

The potential price tag surrounding Shoosmith adds another layer to the questions about its future.

An engineering group working for the bankruptcy trustee estimated that closing the landfill, taking corrective measures and providing post-closure care could cost more than $172 million over 30 years.

Available bond funds total only slightly more than $19 million.

That disparity has generated concern among nearby residents.

Bob Olsen, with Chesterfield Citizens for Responsible Government, previously told CBS 6:

“It all seems to be a plan...and the citizens are left holding the bag.”

Waiting for answers

Cherry said he does not know whether the delayed report will confirm the concerns raised about Shoosmith or provide reassurance to the people living nearby.

That, he said, is precisely why he wants to see it.

“I think facts are what help us mitigate that propensity to always look to the worst that could happen,” Cherry said. For now, the Governor’s Office says the report remains under review and is not yet final.

The administration has not provided CBS 6 with a date when the final report will be released.

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