Allied Presentation

By MEGAN MCABEE

CUMBERLAND The scheduled public hearing held by the County Planning Commission on Monday was deferred due to amendments being made to the rezoning applications.  But the Planning Commission still heard comments from citizens and was presented with information from Allied Waste.

According to County Attorney Howard Estes, the County must wait the regulated amount of time, put out notices to the public and schedule the public hearing for a later date due to the amendments.  The Planning Commission agreed unanimously on rescheduling the public hearing for October 10.

County attorney Estes explained that, The applications that were submitted for the rezoning have been amended.  So, we are required to issue a second notice for a public hearing and hold the hearing within the allotted time frame.  There are two items in the applications that are now different.  One, there was a voluntary movement of the roadway away from The Woods subdivision.  When that road was realigned it changed the amount of acreage by about 11 to 12 acres.  That change in zoning is substantial enough that it requires a second public notice and then a hearing be held at a later date.  Secondly, there is a voluntary proposal for that 300-foot conservation easement and natural buffer.  That 300-foot buffer will be submitted in the amended application,explained the County attorney.  

The amendment to the application will guarantee that the buffer area between the subdivision and the landfill site will never be developed.  It will regulate that the buffer consist of a wooded area for the life of the landfill site, according to the Allied Waste team.

Ted Neura, the Project Development Manager for Allied Waste, spoke to the audience and to commission members during the meeting.

According to Neura, the one question that captures the essence of the whole project is Can one tenth of one percent of Cumberland land be put safely to use and generate significant economic value in the county itself? Neura went on to mention that putting the land to use in a safe manner is the overlying theme throughout this process.

During the presentation Neura addressed information about Allied Waste and other questions that were brought forth during previous meetings.

The general goal of Allied Waste, according to Neura, was to find a site that satisfies three factors.  The three factors discussed by Neura were isolation, accessibility, and suitability.

Allied Waste believes it has found a site that satisfies all three factors.  According to Neura the site is well hidden and the site is also accessible, yet suitable in the eyes of the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality.

Neura took the time to clear up confusion regarding the three different applications that are being considered by the County.  

We have three basic applications pending right now with the Planning Commission.  The reason why we didnt just go with one application is that we really attempted to tailor the process so that we work with best practices involving good land planning and use,said Neura.

Afterwards, Neura drew attention to the Conditional Rezoning Application specifically.  This application refers to the site entrance.  The site entrance is about six miles east of the Courthouse and near The Woods subdivision.

Before the meeting Neura said that citizens voiced concerns about the possibility of realigning the site access road.  

Neura responded during the presentation by saying, We are internalizing the comments being made by citizens regarding adjustment in realigning the access road.

And concerns regarding the idling of trucks in a staging yard and the noise it will create were also addressed.

A truck idles at about 63 or 64 decibels.  That is a normal conversation level, so what you would have would be a half of a mile between that staging yard and the nearest lot in The Woods subdivision.  There is quite a bit of dampening that occurs.  It would be like someone having a normal conversation a half a mile away.  You might be able to hear them but it would be hard to hear them,said Neura.

Traffic is near and dear to citizens in this area, according to many citizens.  In response to this concern, Allied Waste spoke with its traffic consultants and created a few different comparative analyses.

A typical drug store generates around 1,000 trips in traffic per day, a home improvement store generates just at 3,400 trips a day in traffic, and any standard subdivision can generate at least 10 trips a day in traffic per home.  So, a 200 home subdivision can potentially generate at least 2,000 trips per day in traffic, according to Neuras presentation.

You put up a new facility that generates business you will then have vehicles that generate trips.  A landfill generates less than all three types of businesses mentioned previously.  I think that you will see it (landfill) generates a substantial amount of value for the number of trips it generates,said Neura.

The Host Agreement limits the routes that can be used by Allied Waste.  The agreement allows traffic on (Route) 45 only to service the Farmville, Cartersville, and Buckingham areas.  Also, Allied Waste has to drawn up a design that shows that the intersection on Route 60 is safe and that the road itself is also safe as an access, according to the presentation.  

We are going through the process where genuine concerns are being brought forth and addressed,said Neura.

An elaborate review was done by Allied Waste.  The Allied Waste team researched, drove around, and did a line of site analysis. 

According to the team, You could not see the landfillat eight different locations.  The areas chosen were located along Goshen Road, Frenchs Store Road, and Route 60.  

Now, that does not mean you cannot see the landfill from absolutely every area in the county.  If somebody walks in the gate of the landfill, they are going to see the landfill.  If someone is hunting in the woods right beside it they might catch a glimpse.  And you may have very small spots along certain road segments during certain seasonal times of the year where you might catch a glimpse.  But as a rule, it is restricted from most points of view,explained Neura.

There is nothing like the Host Agreement that is before the County in the state of Virginia.  The agreement covers the no smell agreement.  If we get complaints we have an obligation to respond and if we dont respond the County has the right to shut us down,said Neura.

And later explained how the gases from the landfill can be used for energy.  Neura commented that he worked on a project where 25 cubic feet a minute of landfill gas was piped to run boilers at a Stouffers plant.

Many of our landfills across the county are generating electricity.  It is an enormous value.  Industries that have a need for that kind of energy will be appealed to this landfill.  Especially in todays economy where energy prices are way up,Neura commented.

Neura ended his presentation by telling the Planning Commission and citizens of Cumberland that the one-tenth or 250 acres of the county will be used efficiently and operated safely.  He then, again, asked the question that he began his presentation with and this time answered it by stating, I think the answer is yes.

Finally, Neura left members of the commission and citizens with a final thought.  In comparing it (landfill) to local auto part stores, the annual revenue at max through put would be equivalent to 700 of those stores.  That would be one auto part store for every, roughly, three residents in the community of Cumberland.  This gives you an idea of how efficient this operation can be from an economic standpoint.

Karen Mulleins spoke to the Planning Commission about her opinions regarding the laws of garbage. Ms. Mulleins has been a resident of Cumberland for 13 years.

The situation can be summarized by the first law of garbage.  It is that everybody wants it picked up but no one wants it put down.  And, the second part of this law is that no one wants it put down anywhere near them.  So, I encourage you (Planning Commission) to establish the third law of garbage, which is toss out laws one and two.  If you want to grow, community garbage needs to be cultivated.  This growth needs to be as follows.  The landfill will bring new schools, new schools will bring new residents, new residents will bring new businesses, and new businesses will bring new jobs,said Ms. Mulleins.

John Habel is a resident of the The Woods.  During the public comment section he spoke regarding the landfill.  According to Habel, the Board of Supervisors stated last week that the sentiments of Cumberland are that 80 percent of its citizens are for the landfill and 20 percent of its citizens are against the landfill.

Those living on Goshen Road, Frenchs Store Road, and in The Woods are close to 100 percent against it.  So, I ask you to relocate the landfill onto the properties of those 80 percent who want it.  We both know that life is not that easy…Schools are a treasure for everyone, but paying for schools are also a burden for everyone…When Mr. (Supervisor Cliff) White came to my house I told him to raise my taxes for the school,said Habel.

Craig White is the History Department Chair for Cumberlands high school.  White mentioned to the Planning Commission that although he is not a resident of Cumberland County he has spent the last ten years working for the students and parents of the County.

When I first arrived here the adults I met wondered why in the world would I choose to work here when others of my age were eagerly awaiting retirement.  The students I met each day were very vocal that no one in the County cared about them.  I heard it everyday.  Times have changed, adults outside the County want to know how we have managed to become an academic star and the students have well earned their self-confidence and pride of being a Duke,explained White.  

Later, White commented that I have heard others say, find something else. Yet, I have never heard somebody come up here to this podium and say try this or try that. I urge you to recommend the approval of the rezoning request when it comes before you at future meetings.

Betty Newman voiced her biggest concern to the Planning Commission.  According to Ms. Newman, The trucks are going to get to (Route) 60 by (Route) 522 in Powhatan. 

Ms. Newman later mentioned that Everyone knows that (Route) 522 is one of the most dangerous roads in Powhatan County because it so narrow.

Glenn Hodge has been a resident in Cumberland County for 15 years.  He began his comments by thanking the Planning Commission for allowing citizens the time to share their concerns and over-all thoughts regarding the landfill.

I am acutely aware that the education, adequate facilities, and resources to make this happen should be foremost in our minds.  My primary concern is that past failures to properly fund the educational leagues of the county and the frustration over not yet finding good sound resources of revenue to meet our desperate educational and community development growth needs put us in the dangerous position of believing that the end justifies the means,said Hodge.

Michael Sentaro is a Chesterfield resident and owns property off of 601 in Cumberland.  Sentaro said, The County Board of Supervisors are faced with a difficult decision.  At this time, the landfill is the only viable solution to this lack of funds other than general tax increase.  The entire county stands to benefit from the capital expenditures that the additional funds from the landfill will allow.

Tim Kennell, a representative of residents against pollution, spoke to the Planning Commission about how Cumberland should not buck the trendin Virginia.  He explained that other counties in the state are constantly rejecting plans to develop landfills and Cumberland should not be any different.

Beverly Hill is the current Program Manager for the Cumberland Regional Adult Educational Program.  Ms. Hill concluded her comments by stating, The transfer payments and economic base of farming is no longer sufficient to support Cumberlands population.  We need schools…We need emergency medical technicians, we need better county services, we need adult education class, we need better infrastructure and financial capital, we need a skilled work force.  We need.  We need.  And our problems will not fix themselves and they are not self-correcting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Commission members made nominations for the Chairman and Vice Chairman positions.  After discussion, the Planning Commission reelected Parker Wheeler as Chairman and Keith Oulie was nominated and elected as Vice Chairman. Bill Burger respectfully declined the nomination to continue acting as Vice Chairman.

After the public comment portion of the meeting, Chairman Parker Wheeler thanked everyone for their comments and later addressed the citizens.  

Chairman Wheeler said, We are listening and we are hearing you.  We are doing our best to evaluate the situation and make the best recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Commission member Ms. Irene Speas assured county citizens that the Planning Commission is listening and taking all of the comments and concerns into consideration.

I do appreciate the fact that we live in a place where we can hold an open forum,said Ms. Speas.

It is helpful for me to have questions in writing submitted to the Planning Commission.  I really appreciate the effort that the citizens have put forth so far.  I think the issue of property values is a very legitimate point,said Commission member Patrick Smook.  

Smook later added that, I think we need to bring the sides together and get a better understanding.  Because what I am hearing from the state is not what I am hearing from the citizens.  The bridge needs to be closed.

Roland Gilliam mentioned that he believes the public comments give the Planning Commission more thought-provoking questions that can be addressed before a decision is made about the proposed rezoning applications.

After all members addressed comments made by the citizens, Chairman Wheeler ended by saying, I would like to thank the Planning Commission members for their long tireless hours.  I would like everyone to have a copy and read and try to understand what we have.  I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you for caring enough about your county to come up here and spend hours, nights, evenings, and weekends working on this.  We have a lot more work in front of us before we make a decision on this particular matter and we have a whole lot more work to be done in the upcoming year.  We are just beginning to take our little county in the right direction.

Questions and Answers

By MEGAN MCABEE

CUMBERLAND County Planning Commission members heard from Allied Waste, the Department of Environmental Quality representatives, and the public during the Wednesday, September 6 meeting.  The meeting began by welcoming new Commission member Geraldine Sanderson.  This meeting comes after Ms. Sandersons appointment just one week ago.

Commission members had the opportunity to ask questions and hear comments from important key people..

The Planning Commission is seeking to make the best decision for the county, according to Chairman Parker Wheeler.

Project Development Manager, Ted Neura gave a brief basic overview to the Commission as well as the public about the potential landfill.  

Neura began by describing how the subsidiaries work.

Both of these corporations (Cumberland County Development Company, LLC and Obscurity Land Development, LLC) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Allied Waste.  I know that the Planning Commission is well aware of that, but we thought it was important to reinforce that here tonight,said Neura.

Neura told the Commission that, Allied is a company that has been around for decades.  We have tremendous financial stability and experience.  We are a Fortune 500 corporation; we are the second largest waste haulers in the country and we have over 25,000 employees.  We operate over 169 landfills across the country, 57 recycling facilities, and 162 transfer stations.

We are no stranger here to Virginia.  We have three operating landfills, seven transfer stations, and seven collections or hauling divisions. We quadruple our earnings year over year; we are a solid and secure corporation and we have some time here (Virginia),explained Neura.  

Neura went on to discuss questions pertaining to Allied Waste, insurance, and financial assurance.  

County citizens and the Planning Commission during the last meeting brought up the insurance questions.

AIG is our primary insurer.  They are an A Plus rated insurance company.  They have got over 850 billion dollars in assets,he stated.

Neura specifically mentioned that, Allied Waste carries 300 million dollars of liability insurance, 200 million dollars of property insurance, and 50 million dollars of pollution insurance. And later added, We have significant coverage as it relates to some of the issues that have been brought up here as of late,said Neura.

Meade Spotts is the President of Spotts and Fain P.C., a Virginia law firm.  Spotts and his firm represent a long list of clients.  Allied Waste Industries Inc. is one on the list.  The law firm also has a long list of practice areas.  One specifically included is land use and zoning.  

Spotts commented regarding how it is the Countys job (Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission) to make a decision that will protect the County from any risk.

What you get is a multi-tiered approach and I would like to run through it with you tonight,said Spotts.

This is a proposed Subtitle D landfill, and this is probably the bedrock of the Countys protection,said Spotts.  

According to Spotts, Subtitle D landfills are monitored by the Department of Environmental Quality more heavily than called for by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Spotts, the Host Community Agreement specifically states and addresses the Countys other protections.  Spotts referred to eight different sections.  One very important section was mentioned by Spotts to the Commission.  The key point is found in Section 48.

Section 48, is the guarantee by Allied Waste North America, which is Allied Wastes operating entity that holds almost all of the assets.  That guarantee provides 100 percent protection for every single term in the Host Community Agreement,said Spotts.

Spotts then stopped discussing the protections that are mentioned in the Host Community Agreement and began to mention protections that are mandated by DEQ for the County.

You have (Cumberland County) DEQ mandated financial assurance.  They have a formulated approach to look at the size of the land and the potential waste amount.  DEQ comes up with a dollar amount that they feel is necessary in what, to you all, should be the worst-case scenario…If you have an operator cut the lights out, go bankrupt, and leave,said Spotts.  

The dollar amount that is decided on by DEQ will allow the County to step in and shut the landfill down, close it properly, and more importantly monitor it for 30 years plus, according to Spotts.

Before closing, Spotts summarized his key points regarding financial assurances and left the Commission with four final thoughts.

The first is, unlike Page County which is probably the classic example of what a county should not do, you have an operator here, that operates hundreds of landfills and has a track record.  Page County signed a contract with an operator, for whatever reason, that did not have one landfill,said Spotts.

The second issue, unlike Page County, Cumberland County does not own this landfill.  They do not operate it and more importantly they do not hold the permit,said Spotts.

For whatever reason Page County owned the land and held the permit.  They had the liability,according to Spotts.

The third issue is your Host Community Agreement.  If you compare this agreement with any other in the state or outside the state, it is pretty tight when it comes to protection,said Spotts.

And the last issue that protects the County the most are, the DEQ mandated operation requirements are most important because of the worst case scenario the DEQ mandated financial assurance agreements,said Spotts.

Neura spoke briefly before ending his overview about the differences between a dump and a landfill.  According to Neura, county citizens use the word inter-changeably, which is incorrect.  What Allied Waste is proposing to the County is not a dump.  Dumps are illegal.

I think in general, you see the No Dumpsigns and many people will do Internet research and theyll talk about dump concerns.  This is no dump.  This is a new landfill.  Its a modern landfill, and its a lined facility.  The technology has been pretty well researched, and I think what youll see that the monitoring programs, location restrictions, design considerations all work together coupled with the infrastructure,said Neura.

After comments were heard from Allied Waste and their representing firm, Chairman Parker Wheeler opened up the floor.  Planning Commission members then had the opportunity to ask questions of the representatives in attendance.

Commission member Patrick Smook began the comment portion of the meeting by addressing buffer concerns.  

He stated, It would seem that 1,200 acres for a 200 acre landfill is a lot of land and a lot of buffer.

I was just curious if the amount of buffer and isolation we have in the plans is enough, and also how it compares with others in the state,Smook asked of DEQ.

Solid Waste Permit Coordinator for DEQ, Paul Farrell Jr., then stood up and addressed the Commission as a whole in regards to Smooks question.

The buffers that you describe are probably a little more generous than the average landfill usually gives us,explained Farrell.

Oulie went on to ask Farrell, What would happen if some sort of accident occurred with the landfill?

In landfills, we dont see too many sudden accidents.  We have a lot of non-sudden accidents in landfills.  For example, leachate, odors, and things like that,said Farrell.

We have a default figure in our financial insurance regulation of $200,000  per acre.  That is how much we will hold on that facility.  That is to cover for them not showing up on one day and not showing up on the next day.  That will allow us to hire a contractor and send them in to stabilize the site and take over the monitoring and capping off of the landfill.  This happens not very frequently at all, less than hurricanes and less than earthquakes,explained Farrell.

Farrell explained to the Commission he had been in the business for many years and that landfills today are no comparison to landfills in the past.

According to Farrell, landfills built after 1993 at the federal level are not leaking.

I have been in the business for 13 years.  The modern liner design, I dont know if it was skill or luck, but that liner design with the composition of the plastic and two feet of clay has been the best advancement the landfill has had since weve been burying trash,said Farrell.

Vice Chairman Bill Burger asked, When it comes to monitoring, how often do you have to monitor the air and water?

Farrell responded that the ground water must be at least monitored quarterly.  The surface air must be monitored also at least quarterly.

Burger went on to hypothetically comment that if the landfill was monitored in January and then again in April and was found to be leaking.  Would that leachate go far enough to create damage and could it be fixed so that it would stop leaking,asked Burger.

That is the goal if the landfill does have leaks we have these protection systems in place and they are supposed to be early enough before it gets off of the landfill property.  Gas migration can happen in a few weeks, but again the liner is preventing the gas from getting out,stated Farrell.

Farrell ended by saying that the DEQ could legally take any action that is needed in order to remedy any problem regarding the landfill.

Any concerns or questions can be sent to the DEQ.  According to Farrell the DEQ will consider all citizens comments about the landfill during the whole permitting process, once the application has been sent to them.

This, Farrell hopes, will help the County make a decision regarding the landfill.

The Planning Commission was not met with much opposition from citizens during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Many voiced relevant questions to the Commission about the landfills specifics and offered appreciation to the Commission for their hard work and consistent dedication to the County and the landfill project.

Carolyn Baber, a native of Cumberland County, told the Commission that the landfill is the right decision for the County.  

I have lived in Cumberland all my life and I remember how many times we have tried to get businesses in this county with a large tax base.  Overtime everything has been turned down because of different groups of people.  Its always because of different groups of people.  I have waited, waited, and waited.  Finally something is in our range and allows our county to stay rural,said Ms. Baber.

Ms. Baber ended by stating, she wants to able to go down Route 60, sit just at the entrance of the landfill and watch the trucks go in and out knowing in my heart that I was here when things changed in Cumberland.

County citizen Wilson Shores took the opportunity to say, There have been some divisions between people about what to do, but that has been true for the last 35-40 years. 

Shores went on to discuss how We have been trying to get something to come in the county to help.  But everything that seems to come here, there are people who dont want it.  I think the Board has done a fine job…We need something and we have turned down so many things, after a while I believe no one is going to want to stop in Cumberland.

I believe the landfill will be a success here in the County,said Shores.

Joe Hazelgrove Jr. said, I feel that I am the most knowledgeable here tonight, other than Allied and DEQ, I sat on the County appointed Commission almost 20 years ago.  We spent several months discussing landfills.  I felt that at that time the proposed landfill was safe, environmentally correct, and definitely an economic boost in a poor county…a poor county with no industry, no infrastructure present or even any plans to support any industry.  This still holds true today.  We are probably the only school division in the state of Virginia that still utilizes a cannery building that processed fruits and vegetables and a log cabin that should have long been discontinued to educate our children and grandchildren.  I advise you to use sound judgement, proven science, and advice from proven professionals to approve the rezoning application.  

Hazelgrove is the owner of three farms in three different districts in Cumberland County.

The scheduled meeting ended after several Commission members offered their appreciation to the representatives in attendance.

Chairman Wheeler thanked the public for their well thought questions and assured citizens that the correct decision will be made.

There was another meeting held September 11 to further discuss concerns.  Representatives were again present to answer additional questions.

Landfill Update

By MEGAN MCABEE

CUMBERLAND Wednesday September 6, County Planning Commission members will hear from the public and other representatives regarding issues that pertain to the Host Agreement and potential landfill, which could be placed in a timber tract north of the intersection of Goshen Road and Frenchs Store Road.

Public comments will again be heard from citizens during the meeting.  Commission members hope to have all questions and concerns answered by the scheduled Public Hearing for September 18 at the Cumberland County Elementary School.  

Questions from the Planning Commission regarding a change of zoning in the northern end of the county were compiled by Planning and Zoning Administrator Catherine Kahl, and then forwarded to Ted Neura, Project Manager for Allied Wastes Southeast Region.

According to Ms. Sandra Everson-Jones, Commission membersquestions were received by the close-of-business on the Wednesday after the August 21 meeting.  And then Catherine got them out to Allied and VDEQ people on August 23. She ended by stating, The responses were received from Allied Waste on August 31.

Questions that were asked by the Planning Commission were related to the Host Agreement, assurance guarantees, property value protection, insurance, Allied Waste, traffic, environmental protection, other counties, and the three zoning applications.  

According to Allied Waste, The Virginia Department of Environmental Qualitys permitting process is an open, public process that reviews in detail all technical aspects of a landfill.

The Cumberland County Development Company or Allied Waste will be responsible, at their cost, to resolve any breach of contract with the County, or any violation of VDEQ regulations at the landfill facility, according to responses provided by Neura.

Allied Waste states that it will only accept waste for disposal from Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland and with the Boards approval, North Carolina. According to Allied, A restricted area is allowed and enforceable when offered by agreement between a private company and a municipality.

In response to a question asked by a concerned citizen during the last meeting, Allied states, It will have all types of insurance as required by State and Federal Law, and by the Host Community Agreement.  In addition, Allied will have in place all financial assurance requirements as dictated by the VDEQ.

It is estimated that 85 to 95 percent of the anticipated truck traffic will be accessing the facility from the east along U.S. Route 60.  Five to 15 percent of the anticipated truck traffic will be accessing the facility from the west, and will include mostly local haulers serving the Farmville and Cartersville areas.  The vast majority of the waste haulers will be arriving at the facility during the normal working hours.  Vehicles arriving before or after the normal working hours will be staged at the trucking terminal,said one response provided by Neura.

According to Allied Waste, the trucking terminal is a key part of the landfill facility.  It will allow for a normal traffic flow during peak traffic hours on Route 60.  

Many citizens voiced concerns about how the quietness of the county would be protected.  Along with these concerns the Planning Commission wanted to know what measures would be implemented to protect the safety of citizens?

According to Allied, they have evaluated the current level of service and the expected level of service associated with the proposed development and future growth in the area.

Based on the preliminary traffic study, Allied says the existing road is adequate to support the additional traffic.  

In the responses provided by Neura, Allied anticipates, That VDOT may require some roadway modifications in the vicinity of the proposed new intersection.  These improvements, which may include left and right turning lanes, coupled with the proposed truck staging area, will minimize future traffic impacts and safety concerns.

Comments were made from a male citizen of Page County during the Public Comments portion of the Planning Commissions past meeting.  The mans comments caused the public hearing to break out into applause, some later called his comments, about what happens after a landfill is not in operation anymore, horrifying.

These comments prompted Commission members to ask the question How is Cumberlands proposed landfill different from Page County?  

Allied stated, in the responses provided by Neura, The two projects are substantially different.  Of particular importance to Cumberland is the fact that with Page County, it both owned the Battlefield Creek facility and held the landfill in its name.  In Cumberland, Allied will own the land and will hold the permit… Allied has to shoulder all liability and financial responsibility.

In Allieds opinion, Page County made a decision to contract with a company that did not own or operate one single landfill.  The results were not surprising to industry experts, though being a Subtitle D landfill there was no resulting environmental damage.

According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Web site, a Subtitle D landfill only accepts non-hazardous materials.

One concern raised by the Commission was about the history of the land in the area.  The question was asked whether, The law mandates that any type of large scale digging project include an archaeological examination of the site?

When asked the same question later by The Herald, Dr. Brian Bates, Director of Longwood Universitys Archaeology Field School and Department Chair. responded, Yes. 

The Virginia Department of Historical Resources requires that any project, where a DEQ permit is needed, must consider the archaeology,said Bates.

According to Ms. Everson-Jones, the Planning Commission will hear from four VDEQ representatives, project manager for Draper Aden Associates, Donald Rissmeyer, and Ted Neura from Allied Waste during the Wednesday night meeting in the Cumberland Courthouse.

New Land Use Plan

By MEGAN MCABEE

CUMBERLAND Anxious citizens of Cumberland County, who attended the August 21 public hearing, will have their questions answered concerning the new Land Use Plan section of the Comprehensive Plan.

Monday nightspublic hearing was intended to discuss the new Land Use Plan section of the Comprehensive Plan.  The Commission is currently updating the Comprehensive Plan.  The plan includes the proposed landfill in the northern-end of the county, as well as two other potential growth development sites in the county.

More than 30 citizens signed up to comment before the Planning Commission.

Planning and Zoning Administrator, Catherine Kahl and Todd Fortune, of the Commonwealth Regional Council gave an overview of the new Land Use Plan section to the Commission.  The overview was part of the agenda set by the Commission.

According to the new Land Use Plan, its purpose is to guide decision-makers in land use changes as they relate to code amendments, new zoning district classifications, applications for change of zoning, economic development, and other aspects of community planning.

The future land use plan seeks a way to balance new growth development while maintaining rural character and viability in the county.  The guiding principle to achieve this balance is to concentrate growth in specific areas known as designated growth areas,according to Part C of the countys new Land Use Plan section read by Ms. Kahl.

By channeling growth areas the county has the vision of encouraging businesses to locate to the area, says the Commission.

The three growth areas designated by the Commission are Cumberland Court House village, Cartersville, and Farmville.

After the new Land Use Plan section overview, Planning Commission Chairman, Parker Wheeler, opened the public hearing portion of the meeting and asked citizens to only make comments related to the Comprehensive Plan and the new Land Use section.  

All citizens who wished to speak were asked by the Planning Commission to sign a sheet, which was provided before the meeting.  The Commission was faced with many comments and concerns from citizens during the public hearing portion.

Citizen Carol Miller spoke regarding the new Land Use Plan and how it will affect the Plank Road area.  She is concerned that the Commission is ignoring some items that were mentioned in the original draft of the plan.

I am concerned we are putting the cart before the horse.  I understand the proposal in the draft says if you build it then the commercial development will come, unfortunately I have to think that Farmville is going to attract those businesses.  Its too close.  Why would commercial people come in and build right there in that Plank Road residential area when they know people will just cross the river and use Farmville,says Ms. Miller.

Carol Wright, a resident of the Cartersville area, came to Cumberland County 13 years ago to raise cows.

I think it is very inappropriate to have the words landfillincluded in a comprehensive plan.  A comprehensive plan is supposed to be about the future of Cumberland.  We came here for the rural quality of Cumberland, and we would like to see Cumberland maintained in itsrural way and to do things that compliment the rural character of Cumberland,says Ms. Wright to the Commission members.

The last comment regarding the Comprehensive Plan and the new Land Use Plan section came from Dolores Beuth. Ms. Beuth is a native of Cumberland County and she commented to the Commission about how long it has taken them to work on the Comprehensive Plan.

It all sounds good until you get to the last paragraph, I guess you thought everybody (would) get tired and quit reading.  Mark off the last paragraph and lets move forward,said Ms. Beuth.

Ms. Beuth was referring to the proposed Objective 5 of the new Land Use Plan section.  The last policy reads, Develop and maintain appropriate and cost-effective solid waste management facilities, services, and programs to serve the needs of citizens, businesses, industries, and the environment.

The floor was then opened for comments from Commission members.

Commission member David Brown, District 4, took the opportunity to tell citizens that he sympathizes with those that came out tonight. Brown added that the idea behind the plan is to concentrate growth in a few main areas in order to protect the countys rural nature.

After comments were made, Ms. Kahl read the resolution to recommend the countys Comprehensive Plan with the new Land Use Plan section go before the Board of Supervisors for adoption.

Commission member Keith Oulie, District 2, made the motion to recommend the plan.  The motion was seconded by Commission member Roland Gilliam, District 5, and unanimously passed.

The Planning Commission then allowed comments to be made from citizens about any topic concerning the county.  The citizens commented mostly on the proposed landfill and its affect on the county.

Dr. William Rosenberger, a Cumberland citizen and physician, made comments to the Planning Commission regarding his feelings about the health and safety of those who will live in the area of the proposed landfill.

Dr. Rosenberger mentioned what he believes will be the unwanted health effects the landfill will have on future generations.

I stand here tonight in disbelief that this board unanimously wants to turn a piece of Gods country into a toxic waste land,said Dr. Rosenberger.

Project Development Manager Ted Neura, for Allied Waste, commented by saying, We will address all matters concerning the landfill project in the public hearing.

During an interview conducted on Tuesday, Beverly Speas, a Cumberland native, who addressed the Planning Commission and drew applause for her comments spoke regarding how she felt when she left the Planning Commissions public hearing.

Ms. Speas currently lives in her grandparentshouse; the house is situated on 115 acres.  Ms. Speas added that the land was purchased sometime before the 1900s.  

Ms. Speas is concerned that the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors are not together on what they want for the county.  The Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission seem to be at odds as to what they claim to want,said Ms. Speas.

She went on to say that the growth areas are good for Cumberland County, but that she believes the location of the landfill will hinder the growth for the county.  The potential location of the landfill is where growth will naturally happen,said Ms. Speas.

The Planning Commission ended by stating that the Commission will begin to answer questions in its scheduled future meetings.

The Commission would like to answer questions concerning Allied Wastes finances and insurance ideas for the landfill.  And also the questions and concerns pertaining to the Virginia Department of Environmental Qualitys rules and regulations.  

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to set a date for a public hearing to be held on September 18 at the Cumberland County Elementary School.

Chairman Wheeler ended by saying, We have heard lots of concerns, we need to listen to our citizens and take it whole-heartedly.  It is the best way possible to plan for the county. 

Planning Commission/Landfill

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Planners echoed Supervisorsdescriptions of their trip to Allied Wastes Brunswick landfill: they were impressed.

At Mondays Planning Commission meeting, Planners commented on their recent educational field trip to the Brunswick site.  Planners will be responsible for hosting the first round of re-zoning public hearings for the proposed Cumberland landfill that Allied and the County are looking to site near the Powhatan line.  

Planners were unanimous in their positive response to the Brunswick landfill, all save Commission Chairman Parker Wheeler, who was unable to attend the trip.  

Supervisors visited the Brunswick landfill in December.  

Planners said the site was clean and devoid of blowing trash and birds.  Additionally, they agreed for the most part, that the landfill had no odor. At-large representative Keith Oulie thought he smelled a slight odor from the landfill face during lunch, but admitted that he thought he was trying to smellsomething, adding that the odor may have been a figment of his imagination.  

Fifth District Planner Roland Gilliam said he smelled a slight odor while standing directly on top of one of the working faces of the landfill, but said he regularly smelled far worsearound the county already.

Like Gilliam, Third District Planner Bill Burger said he could smell a little bit of an odorwhile standing on the face of the landfill, but called it nothing to write home about. Otherwise, Burger said he could smell absolutely nothing. 

Burger admitted his opposition to a Cumberland landfill since the project had first been announced, but said that he was favorably impressedwith the Brunswick operation.    

Burger and other planners said the site was largely quiet, with not enough noise to be disturbing.  Burger and First District Planner Patrick Smook also noted that the Brunswick County employee who worked at the site said that if problems arose, Allied corrected them expediently.  

Oulie felt the workers at the site exhibited genuine diligence in doing their job to make the site operate properly.  Gilliam felt likewise, adding that workers seemed to display diligence to safety.  

Fifth District Planner Irene Speas said trucks moved into and out of the site smoothly; District Four representative David Brown said that trucks exiting the site traveled through water troughs to clean their tires before returning back onto the main road.  

Planners were also able to observe a nearly filled collection cell and a new, empty one, which would soon be used for refuse collection.  Smook and others mentioned their surprise at the construction of the modernized trash collection cells and methane gas collection methods in use at the site.  

Planners also said they could not see the face of the landfill until they crossed the buffer line barrier that shielded it.  The operating face was not visible from the perimeter of the site or the road, they said.

Planners noted that in addition to the landfill operation, Allied had reserved some fields in the surrounding space where soybeans and hay were harvested.  

All planners were complimentary of site manager Jeff Burrier and felt that a large part of the potential success of a Cumberland landfill would depend on hiring an equally professional manager.  

Gilliam felt the operation was run much more cleanly and safely than landfills of the past and wished that more members of the public had a better understandingof modern landfills.

Planners discussed the results of a recent telephone survey they conducted with citizens to seek public input on land-use issues the Commission should address.  

A total of 1,130 households were called; 182 people agreed to participate in the survey.

Burger noted that a number of the homes called had phones that were no longer in service.  

Most respondents (57.8 percent) either somewhat or strongly agreed that land development is happening too quickly in the county.  Still, a total of 51.4 percent somewhat or strongly agreed that there should be restrictions on the amount of land sold for residential development.  A slightly larger majority, 53.3 percent, thought that restrictions should be placed on the amount of land sold for commercial development.  

Nearly 65 percent of respondents thought the County should concentrate residential development to specific areas to preserve land and maintain rural character; 49.7 percent somewhat or strongly agreed that it is more important to preserve undeveloped land than to have more development.  

Most, 55.3 percent, felt that it was not important for the County to increase residential development at the expense of a tax raise to pay for services.

County economic development was rated as fair to poor by 81.9 percent of respondents.  About 67 percent of participants rated school facilities as fair to poor; 57.3 called County housing opportunities fair or poor.  Other County services rated as fair or poor were public utilities (by 51.7 percent of respondents), and parks and recreation facilities and services (50.3 percent).  

Emergency services received a good or excellent rating by 65 percent of those surveyed.  The natural environment and the public library respectively received good or excellent ratings from about 64 percent of respondents.  

Overall, 49.7 percent of respondents thought the County did a fair to poor job of providing community services, while 44.6 percent gave the County a good to excellent rating.

About 61 percent of respondents cited the Countys existing youth programs, facilities and opportunities as fair to poor.  Twenty-five percent said they did not know about quality of such amenities or had no answer.  

Respondents were also asked to list three new activities, programs or facilities that they would like to see the County implement for youth.  Out of the 182 respondents, 71 favored a YMCA/recreation center/youth facility or meeting place.  Twenty listed educational facilities/schools.  Nineteen said parks and playgrounds should be built for youth, while 15 felt new academic and vocational training programs should be created.  Twelve thought new jobs should be available for youth.  

When asked to identify three issues the Planning Commission should address in the future, 33 respondents said theyd like to see Planners focus on businesses for the county.  Thirty-three respondents said they wanted Planners to address the proposed landfill; about half of those respondents said they were not in favor of the project.  

The survey showed that nearly half of the respondents did not know who represents them on the Board of Supervisors.

The survey was conducted in conjunction with the Commonwealth Regional Council.  

Board of Supervisors representative Bill Osl asked Planners if there was a way to help speed up processeswithin the Planning Commission.  This is not a criticism.  But I look at the Comprehensive Plan and weve been working on it for over two years.

Weve been working on it for over 10 years,Planning Commission Chairman Wheeler said.  

Wheeler said often items Planners work on for several months are sent to the Board which then asks for revisions that cause the process to begin all over again.  

And this will sound philosophical, but its due to democracy,Burger said.  Democracy is slow as molasses because youve got to build a constituency,Burger said, adding that additional time was needed in the governing process to allow citizens to consider and speak on issues.  Its a slow-moving process, but I aint found a better one yet,Burger said.

Osl agreed that such steps of the process were necessary and should not be neglected.  But Osl felt the update of the Comp Plan should be completed within the tenure of the current Board, and asked Planners what could be done to help make that happen.  Osl asked about the possibility of forming sub-committees among Planners as a means of speeding up the process.  

Wheeler said sub-committees had been tried in the past, but were eliminated because they added an extra step in the process as sub-committees had to report back to the full Commission and then possibly meet again if revisions were suggested from that larger body.  

Weve got a lot of stuff going on right now.  We may have more going on right now than this Planning Commission has faced in decades,Osl said.  The question is, are we organized in the best way possible to address everything we have going on or do we have the right process in place.  I know the answer is No, that we dontbecause I know the time frame it takes to get things done.  I throw that out then and say what can we do to address that?Osl asked.

Burger felt Planners would need to meet weekly to work on the Comp Plan in order to complete it within Supervisors current term.  

Planning and Zoning Administrator Catherine Kahl said that she would consider suggesting ways to help expedite the planning process.  County Attorney Howard Estes also said that he would give thought as to how the Commission could possibly accelerate tasks.  

Supervisors To Meet

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Supervisors have been invited to meet with their counterparts in Powhatan to discuss the proposed Cumberland landfill project, but a date for that meeting has yet to be set, according to Cumberland Board Chairman Bill Osl.  

Powhatan Supervisors have reportedly expressed concerns about traffic from the landfill, which is slated to be built near the Powhatan/Cumberland County line.  Most of the trucks that will bring trash to the landfill are expected to travel along Rt. 60 through Powhatan.

Powhatan Supervisors had originally proposed that the Cumberland Board meet with them in a work session Thursday.  Osl said that invitation came too late for Cumberland Supervisors, most of whom could not attend due to prior commitments.  

Osl said he first spoke to Powhatan and other surrounding counties about the landfill at last years Virginia Association of CountiesAnnual Meeting.  He has spoken to Powhatan Board members informally since then about the project, but not in relation to traffic concerns.  He said that he has offered to speak to Powhatan Supervisors since then in regards to questions they may have about the project.

Osl said Powhatan Supervisors were not aware of the proposed location of the landfill until it was formally announced two weeks ago.  

In recent landfill-related meetings, Cumberland Supervisors have said that theyve offered to let Powhatan dispose of garbage into the proposed landfill at a reduced cost.  In exchange, theyve requested that Powhatan run water lines to Cumberland if a proposed Powhatan water treatment facility is completed.  

The idea that we were doing a landfill was not a surprise at all,Osl said, re-emphasizing the fact that hed discussed the project with Powhatan officials.

Those have all been kind of high-level theoretical discussions.  There have been no major sit-downs to reach any kind of agreements or consensus.  But, obviously, part of those discussions have been that we were looking at putting this landfill in and, if and when we did, that would provide some economic benefit to us that would also provide us with an ability to talk to Powhatan about handling their trash that would be more cost-effective to them.  So we were trying to do something from a financial standpoint that would be mutually beneficial,Osl said.

Landfill Agreement

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Last week, Supervisors released a copy of the finalized host agreement for siting an Allied Waste, Inc. landfill within the county.  

However, the agreement is actually chartered between the Board of Supervisors of Cumberland County, Virginia and Cumberland County Development Company, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company,listing Allied Waste North America, Inc. a Delaware corporation,as Guarantor. 

Cumberland Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl said the CCDC is a subsidiary of Allied Waste, created by that company, consisting of the to-be hired landfill manager, employees, and other Allied executives, but was unsure of the specific names of the members.  Osl said the CCDC would not consist of representation from the timber companies who own the land where the landfill is to site.  

Allied Eastern Area Project Development Manager Ted Neura could not be reached for comment on the membership of the CCDC or details of the host agreement.  

Osl said the establishment of the LLC is a common practice with Allied whenever it opens a new landfill.  They do that to shield liability from third parties.  Thats not liability from environmental things because the Guarantor on that is Allied North America…But if somebody gets injured and sues the company, they cant get to the parent company and all the assets that are there; they have to deal with the local subsidiary.  A lot of people, even small businesses in the county here, set up LLCs so if people have a problem with the company, they cant get to their house…So its a way of shielding liability, but from Cumberlands standpoint, we dont have any problem with that.  We would have a problem from an environmental (standpoint) or from a guarantee of the contract, but all those go with Allied North America,Osl said.  

As far as the County is concerned, this whole agreement lies with the faith and credit and legal obligation of Allied, North America.  We view the LLC as just a company thats used for the local operation of the landfill, but thats not the company that we negotiated the landfill agreement with.  We negotiated with Allied North America,Osl said.

Environmental Attorney Dan Slone, with McGuire Woods, concurred that the development of a limited liability company is a common practice when landfills site.  

I think if you look at other host agreements, youll see similar sorts of circumstances.  Pretty much any development company of an undertaking that has some risksand those are risks like someone getting hurt at the landfill or somebody falling in a hole or something like thatany company that is involved in an undertaking that has those sorts of risks wants to compartmentalize those risks in an entity like an LLC.  

The important thing for a locality is that they want to make sure that any obligations under the host agreement are met, particularly financial obligations and in particular, any of the obligations for long-term closure or liability protection or those sorts of things.  They want to make sure that the parent (company) that has the real assets is also involved and thats what the guarantee should provide,Slone said.

(Neither Slone nor McGuire Woods are involved with the landfill agreement and were contacted strictly for research purposes).  

Supervisors voted to enter into a host agreement with Allied in January, announcing the proposed site for the landfill in April. The landfill would be located near the Powhatan line, one-third of a mile west of The Woods subdivision.  It would lie about 2.2 miles south of Route 60 at the end of a road that Allied has offered to build.

Osl and Supervisor Elbert Womack have reportedly signed the agreement, as have County Administrator Judy Ownby and former County Attorney Darvin Satterwhite (who is still representing the County in the host agreement negotiations).  The remaining Supervisors have yet to sign the agreement, but have expressed interest in doing so; however, Osl is the only Board member required to sign to make the agreement official.  Once the County has completed its signature process, the agreement will await the signature of Allied representatives.

The agreement verifies much of the information provided by Supervisors in recent Board and public meetings about the profits and general operations of the landfill.  However, it also includes provisions on tax incentives and condemnation proceedings that have not been highlighted at those forums.

The CCDC will pay real estate tax rates based on the total annual real estate assessments in effect on January 1, 2006.  However, if the real estate taxes increase by more than four percent in subsequent years, the CCDC will pay that increase to the County, but will deduct that amount from the Countys next host fee payments.

We told them we could work a tax incentive just because of the complete magnitude of the deal, but we couldnt do a complete holiday,so we wound up with this cap in place.  Theyll pay the same rate as everybody else, but it is capped as part of the overall financial package.  We just look at that as part of the incentive we had to do in order to get the overall financial package in place,Osl said.

The agreement also includes a provision giving the County the right to condemn property or property rights deemed reasonably necessaryby the CCDC or Cumberland to serve a public purpose, unless a judge rules that the County lacks the authority to take such property.

Allied asked us to put that in for their own protection and it would be in the case that we needed to condemn some of their own land…It would not involve any private property owners as I understand it,Osl said.

According to the agreement, the County will receive a minimum of $500,000 in annual host fees regardless of the amount of garbage that is actually deposited at the site.  Initially, no more than 2,500 tons of garbage will be disposed of at the landfill each day.  However, that total will be increased by five percent annually for the first 15 years following the opening of the landfill.  

The CCDC will pay Cumberland $2.10 per ton of waste received by the landfill; that rate would escalate by a minimum of two percent or the Consumer Price Index inflation rate (whichever is greater) each year for the life of the site.

Host fees will be due 45 days after the end of the each calendar quarter.  Along with each host fee payment, the CCDC will provide the County with documentation of the quarterly tonnage.  County representatives may visit the landfill during regular business hours after giving Allied reasonable advance noticeto inspect and copy the CCDCs books and records regarding that garbage intake.

The landfill will accept 16,000 tons of garbage per year from Cumberland at no cost to the County.  After the landfill has been in operation for five years, that collection rate will increase by 2 percent each year.

Supervisors have said that free disposal will save the County almost $400,000 per year that is now paid to Amelia for trash disposal.

The County will be responsible for maintaining an identification system to ensure that only county residents and designees are freely disposing of waste.  

The agreement requires the CCDC to work with the County in good faithto promote economic development for Cumberland.  According to the agreement, the CCDC has agreed to grant water and sewer easements along landfill property lines, market the sale of landfill gas  (sharing 10 percent of those revenues with the County), assist with water and sewer service development to the site and assist with the development of an industrial park on land adjacent to the landfill.

The CCDC will renovate the Countys existing transfer stations, providing lighting and improving entrances, agreeing to spend no more than $110,000 for the combined upgrades to all three sites.  The CCDC will then operate and maintain the centers.  The County may use its own employees to staff the centers; if so, the CCDC will provide a maximum of $130,000 in annual salary for those employees, adjusted each year according to the Consumer Price Index.

The CCDC will establish a closure plan for the site, paying Cumberland $25,000 per year to be put towards that eventual closing.  The CCDC will also fund annual scholarship programs for County students and annual contributions to volunteer fire and rescue teams.  

Supervisors have estimated the landfill to be in operation for about 24 years; during that time, they estimate that the landfill will generate about $150 million for the County.

A Property Value Assurance Programis also included for those living within one-half mile of the landfill disposal area, intended to prevent the devaluation of properties within that radius.  The program would be offered on a one-time basis and would include a sign-up period.  Those participating in the program would agree not to oppose the permitting, development, construction or operation of the landfill as long as it was in material compliance with state and Federal laws and regulations.

An advisory board, consisting of appraisers mutually agreed upon by the participants and the CCDC, would determine the value of the property.  That appraisal would be funded by the CCDC.  If the participant wished to have a second appraisal performed, it would be at their own expense.  The average of the two appraisals would then be used to determine the value of the property.  The value of the property would then be adjusted annually, based on the greater of the average percentage increase or decrease of residential Second District re-sales as determined by the Multiple Listing Service sales for the immediately previous year.  

Any improvements to the property would have to be presented to the CCDC for adjustment consideration.  If the property owner chose to sell, in order to be remain eligible for re-sale protection, the property owner would have to sell at or above the adjusted property value.  

No more than four Allied trucks may pass through the Court House sector during the hours when school is beginning or dismissing.  Trucks that arent owned by Allied will also be subject to this provision and if found in violation will be restricted from using the landfill (by Allied) until they comply with the regulation.  

No Allied trucks are allowed access to secondary roads adjacent to the landfill or on Rt. 45 to Farmville, except for those that may be servicing Farmville.

The CCDC will be responsible for maintaining a staging area that its trucks must pass through when the landfill is not actively disposing of waste.  

Allied agrees to pay all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys feesincurred by the County in connection with the enforcement of the host agreement.

Osl felt the provisions listed in the agreement were more than sufficient to prevent the landfill from being seen, heard or smelled by the majority of county citizens.  And I underscore majority,he reiterated.

A computer generated program was used to evaluate line of sight for the landfill, Osl said, in order to help reduce the visibility of the potential site.  The agreement requires a 100- to 300-foot vegetative buffer around the actual landfill disposal site and in areas where the Department of Environmental Quality allows, the CCDC will maintain a 300-foot vegetative buffer.  Shoebox lighting will be used to reduce light pollution.  

Noise from the landfill must not exceed 67 decibels (normal conversational tone) at the nearest residence.  

If the CCDC receives three or more complaints about odor from residents living within one mile of the site within a 48-hour period, a corrective action plan will be initiated.  If the smell is not remedied within 30 days, a revised plan will be submitted to an Advisory Board, consisting of citizens who will work with landfill operators, for its reasonable approval. 

A cumulative reading of less than 15 parts per billion of hydrogen sulfide, based on a one-hour average during a continuous twelve hour monitoring cycle at the residences within one mile of the site would be considered a satisfactory remedial endpoint,the agreement states.  Likewise, a reading of less than 1 part per million for hydrogen sulfide at the landfill boundary closest to those residences would be considered a acceptable.  If the CCDC cannot reduce the odor to meet those criteria with the revised action plan, the CCDC would be required to pay the County $1,000 per day until the violation was remedied.  

If the offending odorant is found to be something other than hydrogen sulfide, the CCDC will address the matter according to DEQ regulations, the agreement states.

Unless theres been some recent revisions, you may not find that in another contract in the Commonwealth of Virginia,Osl said, of some of the landfills more specific operational guidelines established by the County.  We meant what we said about the majority not seeing, hearing or smelling it…that took a lot of negotiation.  The companies dont like having those kind of metrics put on them…But we wanted specific performance metrics that we could hold them accountable to,Osl said.

I felt like we came out with a very positive deal for Cumberland County, including the financials as well as the control mechanisms that are in place.  I know that those control mechanisms dont exist in most other contracts that weve looked at…So I feel good that weve got something there that a lot of people just werent able to get,Osl said.

Landfill Woods Meeting

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Monday evening, residents living in and near The Woods subdivision got the chance to speak with Supervisors and Allied Waste Project Director Ted Neura about the proposed landfill that may soon sit right beside them.  

The roughly dozen citizens gathered had been invited by Supervisors to attend the meeting to share their questions and concerns about the project, specifically because of their proximity to the site.  The proposed landfill would be built on timber tracts about one-third of a mile west of The Woods.  The landfill would sit about 2.2 miles south of Route 60 at the end of a road that Allied has offered to build.

Many of their concerns expressed Monday were the same as those voiced by other citizens in regards to the projectconcerns about odor, traffic, noise and safety.  

The group also keyed in on an issue that will likely impact them more than their fellow County citizens if the landfill is finalized: property values.

Neura told the group that Allied will offer residents within a half-mile of the trash collection site a Property Value Protection Program, intended to protect the value of the residentshouses as well as the appreciation of those homes, Neura said.    

The landfill site is expected to be about 1,200 acres in size; about 200 acres of that footprint will be used as the actual operating face of the landfill.  The remaining acreage will be used as buffer area.  Some citizens were concerned that the half-mile radius would not be large enough to ensure that Allieds property program applied to them, due to the large buffer area surrounding the site.

You said our property is not going to decrease in value,a citizen said to Second District Supervisor Cliff White.  But I ask you, if I put my house on the market, if you were looking for a house, would you buy one with a driveway to a landfill half a mile from your home?  And you say its okay, because its two and-a-half miles from the dumpsite and youll only smell it if a strong wind comes through.  Those are my concerns…If I had known there was going to be a landfill there, I would not have bought my house,she said.  

One citizen, who identified himself as a heavy equipment operator and mechanic, said hed visited every landfill in the state.  Theyre nasty, vile places,he said.  But thats not really the issue.  Either its going to do something for us (residents of the Woods and the other immediate surrounding areas) or its not going to happen,he said, requesting that Allied produce written documentation that would protect those residents.  Otherwise, he said, residents would pursue avenues to preclude the landfill from siting.  

Somethings going to have to be done for us or were going to fight it,he said.

Neura asked what residents would require from Allied.  The same citizen said he wanted to see something in writing that would guarantee fair market value of homes in the area, calling the half-mile radius proposition ridiculous,adding that hed be willing to move.  

White said that decision would not fall to Supervisors, but with Allied.  Neura said Allied could potentially offer a subsidy on real estate taxes for nearby residents that would help increase property values through reduced taxes.  
It really is a team effort,Neura said.  Ive got to be involved and theres some things that Ive got to run through my corporate office and talk to them about in terms of policy.  Were interested in discussing some of these issues with you and having an ongoing dialogue.  There may be nothing that we can do, or maybe we can donate a small piece of property to The Woods subdivision for isolation or for something that may be helpful to the whole subdivision,Neura said.

White said the County may look to implement some type of tax reduction for a particular segment of the county as Neura had mentioned, saying that Supervisors had discussed that possibility.  Im not saying thats what were going to do right now, were looking into the ramifications of that, but its possible that could happen.  It would lower your tax bill enough to offset the value of your home that you think youre going to lose,White said.  

It would also help make it more attractive to buyers,another citizen said.  

Neura said later in the meeting that Allied generally drafts commitment letters to some type of entity rather than individuals.  For example, if a particular resident wanted Allied to pave its proposed entrance road and Allied agreed, Allied would establish that requirement with the County.  

A citizen felt if residents were to ever consider litigation against Allied, theyd need to form an association.  Neura said he preferred to try to work with residents and the County rather than associations in order to negotiate what terms could be incorporated into the host agreement to address citizensconcerns.  

I think what we need to talk it over with Supervisors and see what we need to do to reach back out to The Woods.  And I think weve got to follow up with you all as an important first step,Neura said.

Some citizens said they felt as though their small group would not be enough to influence a corporate entity like Allied to do anything it did not have to, or wish, to do.  White said it was up to Supervisors to help protect those residentsinterests.  

Neura also told citizens that their voices would not go unheard. 

Believe it or not, if we set the system up well, we dont have reoccurring complaints year after year, so it is incumbent upon us to do it right the first time.  We really try to do that.  Sometimes we dont always have that luxury because maybe we sometimes purchase a site that has bad infrastructure and we dont have the luxury to improve it.  But in this particular case, were starting fresh and were going to really get an opportunity to make it right straight out of the blocks.  And we will do that because we dont want to hear complaints either, for the next 30 years,Neura said.  

Another citizen told Supervisors that they better make sure that Allied was not pulling the woolover their eyes.  Neura, in turn, said for what it was worth, hed never worked with a county as astute about what they wanted to see in a host agreement as Cumberland.  

White said that in speaking to other counties with landfills, Supervisors found that property values had not dropped as was commonly expected.  Real estate values for property directly contiguous to Charles City Countys landfill, for example, rose by 15 percent last year, White said.  The average real estate bill for that county rose by 30 percent, White said, but noted that many other properties in Charles City miles from the landfill only rose by 15 percent.  

White advised citizens against putting their house up for sale.  I dont advise that because we have no idea if DEQ (the Department of Environmental Quality) is going to approve the landfill permit.  We think that they will,White said.

White said that permitting process (along with the accompanying Federal permitting process) will likely take a year.  

Supervisors and Neura said they intend to hold similar meetings with other residents who live on Goshen Road and Frenches Store Road near the proposed site.  Neura said he planned to continue dialogue with The Woods residents after those meetings.

White said that Allied and Supervisors were willing to organize a bus trip to some of Allieds other landfills if citizens were interested in looking at them in operation.  Only one citizen expressed interest in such a trip, saying if she was going to complain about the project, shed be willing to go see what it may be like.

Initially, about 100 trucks are expected to visit the landfill site daily.  The site would accept trash from Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., initially taking in about 2,500 tons per day with an annual 2.5 percent increase in trash collection expected.  Cumberland could also accept trash from North Carolina if it chose to do so.   The landfill would accept predominantly municipal waste.  

The landfill would operate Monday through Friday on an approximate 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule.  It would be open for a half-day on Saturday.  

Supervisors have worked for the past three months to establish a host agreement with Allied, officially announcing the proposed site for the project two weeks ago.  The host agreement is currently under review by Allied and County attorneys.  Once the agreement is signed, the County will automatically receive $225,000.  The project will then go before the Planning Commission for re-zoning hearings.  The actual operating face of the landfill property would be re-zoned from A-2, Agricultural to M-2, Industrial; the remaining buffer property would retain its A-2 classification, Supervisors said.  

Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl said only the property that Allied needs for the operation of the landfill would be re-zoned; no surrounding property would be subject to re-zoning, he added.  

Once the project receives unappealable zoning approval, the County would get another $500,000.  Allied will also pay the County $110,000 to upgrade and manage Cumberlands current transfer stations once the host agreement is signed.  

During the year-long state and Federal application process, Public hearings will once again be required before the landfill is finalized.  As those permits are acquired, more incentive payments will go to the County.  By the time the site is ready to accept its first trash trucksanticipated to be 2009Allied will have paid $2.35 million to the County, Neura said.

The host agreement includes a clause guaranteeing that Allied will pay the County a minimum of $500,000 per year, regardless of how much trash is brought into the site.  The County will be allowed to dump its own trash at the site at no cost, freeing up about $400,000 annually that Cumberland currently pays Amelia to dispose of its garbage.  The County will receive 10 percent of all profits from Allieds sale of landfill gas, which can be used to generate electricity.  Allied will also make annual contributions to emergency services and will allocate money for scholarships to Cumberland students each year.  

Allied will pay property and machinery and tools taxes to Cumberland and will immediately begin paying property taxes on the land once an agreement and land purchase are finalized.  

One citizen felt the property tax payment would be insignificant because property taxes are already being paid on the land now.  However, White and Neura explained that the site is currently classified for land use and as such, timber companies are paying a greatly deflated tax rate on most of the land in question.  If Allied acquires the land and is able to get it re-zoned, the land will be taxed at a much higher rate, they said.  

The landfill is expected to have a life-span of about 24 years, Neura said, adding that it could possibly operate past that estimate.  Over that time, the landfill is expected to generate $150 million for the County, Supervisors say.

Supervisors intend to restrict the use of that money primarily for Capital Improvement Projects and one-time improvements rather than including it in Countys general funds budget.  Supervisors feel that it would be unwise to include too much of that money in the general fund, because if the general fund becomes dependent upon that revenue, it will take a great loss once the project closes in 24 years.  

The money would be used to fund construction of a new middle/high school complex, improvements to other County services and utilities and possibly, other projects, such as the establishment of a local satellite campus for Southside Virginia Community College and an innovation community (targeted at economic development) from Virginia Tech.

Once the landfill is closed, it will be Allieds job to continue to manage the site for at least 30 years.  If Allied were to go bankrupt while the landfill were still in operation, Allied would have to pay a liquidation cost to Cumberland.  Allied must also make advance insurance payments to DEQ that will ensure the site has enough financial resources to close down permanently, should such action be required.  If Allied folded, White said another landfill company would then likely come in and take it over the site because it would offer a prime location already in operation.  If another company did not assume control, the Department of Environmental Quality would step in and hire a company to cap the site for use as a green space, White said.

Landfill Site Named

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Tuesday afternoon, Supervisors voted to sign a host agreement with Allied Waste, Inc. to site a commercial solid waste landfill in Cumberland to the southwest of The Woods  subdivision near the Powhatan County line, pending a review of the contract by attorneys.  

Supervisors met with Allied representatives Tuesday for the better part of a day before finalizing the host agreementit was the latest in a series of closed host contract negotiation meetings that have continued since late January.

The site of the proposed project is approximately 2.2 miles to the south of Route 60; Allied has proposed to build an entrance road off of Route 60 to the site.  That road will eventually become the property of the County, according to Second District Supervisor Cliff White, who spoke to The Herald on Wednesday.

The landfill will be sited on property currently owned by several timber companies, White said.

The total landfill site would stretch about 1,000 acres.  Only about 200 acres of that area, however, would be used for actual trash collection.  The remaining 800 acres would be used as buffer space.  

Supervisors and Allied representatives are still waiting to sign a final copy of the host agreement, which is now being scrutinized by attorneys.  Once that contract is signed, it will become public record and will be available for citizensreview.  Supervisors and Allied representatives will review the details of the project for citizens at a public meeting on Monday, April 24 in the elementary school cafeteria.  The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

According to a news release drafted earlier this week, Supervisors anticipate that the landfill will generate a total of about $150 million for the County over the next 24 years.  About $115 million of that total will come in the form of host fees.  Allied will pay the County $225,000 immediately following the signing of the host agreement; once a non-appealable zoning determination is made, the County will receive another $500,000 from Allied.  Other success paymentsdirectly linked the progression of the project would bring $2.235 million to the County prior to any construction of the landfill.  

Allied will fund a scholarship program that will provide $400,000 over the life of the site; additionally, it will make over $600,000 in contributions to County fire and rescue teams during that time, the release states.

Allied will pay the County $110,000 up front to renovate the Countys three existing transfer stations and will pay the County another $140,000 each year to maintain County employees there.  

A County employee will be hired to manage the landfill site at an annual cost of about $100,000, which will be funded by Allied.  Regular monitoring reports of the site will be compiled and provided to the County.  The agreement requires Allied to submit its operating plan to the County; the County will in turn form a citizensadvisory committee to work with landfill operators to ensure Allieds compliance with the host agreement and with federal and state regulations.

The site is expected to produce enough landfill gas to generate 6-8 megawatts of electricity.  Allied will donate 10 percent of its profits from the sale of that gas to help the County attract new businesses and industry, the release states.

Cumberland will collect annual tax revenue from Allied, and will also eliminate its annual garbage disposal costs.  Currently, the County pays about $400,000 per year in shipping fees to transport its garbage to Amelias landfill.  Cumberland would be able to deposit trash in the new Allied landfill for free.

The landfill will accept trash from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  The County could opt to also accept trash from North Carolinathat decision will be left up to Supervisors, not Allied, White said.

The County anticipates that about 75 percent of the trash accepted at the site will come from Northern Virginia (specifically the Fairfax area) and southern Maryland.  The majority of that  truck traffic will travel along Route 60, coming through Powhatan and will not pass through the majority of Cumberland, White said.

About 5 to 10 percent of the trash will come from Charlottesville, and will likely use Route 15 and Route 45 to get to the site, White said.

About 20 percent of the truck traffic will come from Lynchburg through the Court House Village along Rt. 60, White said.

Such figures account for contracted truck traffic (trucks directly owned by or affiliated with Allied).  Un-contracted trucks (those owned by private disposal services, for example) may use alternate routes, but Supervisors expect such activity to be minimal.  

Supervisors have included provisions in the host agreement preventing any truck traffic, contracted or otherwise, from traveling through the Court House corridor during the daily opening and closing of schools.  

One hundred trucks will bring trash to the landfill each day, equating to about 40 passes (to and from the site) through the Court House during each daily 12-hour period, White said.

The landfill will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.  The 6 p.m. closing time could be extended to 9 p.m. if the County sees fit to do so (if, for example, trucks were delayed because of weather or road closings).  The landfill will operate for about 312 days per year, White said.

The landfill will initially collect about 2,500 tons of garbage per day.  

It is anticipated that the landfill will increase its trash collection by about 2.5 percent annually.  The County expects that five more trucks per day will be added in the second year of the landfills operation, White said.      

The landfill project is estimated at about $50 million, White said.

Monday evening, following its regular monthly meeting, the Planning Commission met with Allied representatives in a closed session to receive information on the project.  Planners will hold public hearings on re-zoning for the project once Allied submits such applications.

Landfill Routes

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Allied Waste, the company currently seeking to site a solid waste landfill in Cumberland, is also looking to build a transfer station in Appomattox.  If both projects become a reality, it could mean that some truck traffic for a Cumberland landfill could be coming from the west along Rt. 60, according to Allied Eastern Area Project Manager Theodore Neura.  

That would be one possible route,Neura said Monday, emphatic that no landfill-bound trucks would pass through Farmville.  

Currently, Allied is looking at a site near the Appomattox/Campbell border, just off of Rt. 460, for its transfer station, Neura said.  Allied has obtained a conditional use permit from Appomattox to site the transfer station, has designed the building, and has submitted a request for bids for construction of the facility, Neura said.  Allied has not decided whether to proceed with construction, Neura said, adding that the companys senior managers are currently evaluating the local market and operating costs to determine if the transfer station would prove financially feasible.

Appomattox Assistant County Administrator John Spencer said Allied began its pursuit of the property in 2004.  Appomattox plans to continue operation of its own county landfill, Spencer said, independent of whether or not Allied sites a transfer station in the area, he said.

Neura called the proposed Cumberland landfill a likely candidatefor trash coming from the Appomattox transfer station, but noted that such details had not yet been established.  Allied could also carry trash deposited at the transfer station to other surrounding countieslandfills, and/or to Appomattoxs own, Neura said,

Neura said he was not aware of a projected date as to when Allied would make a decision on whether to build the Appomattox transfer station.  

Cumberland Supervisors agreed to enter into host agreement negotiations with Allied in January.  That process is intended to establish host fees for the County and to address other site-related issues such as transportation and environmental issues.  If a host agreement can be established, the County would look to sign a contract with Allied.  

Supervisors have met several times with Allied representatives in closed meetings, but still have not named a potential site for the proposed landfill.  During a public meeting in January, Supervisors said if Allied suggested a site that the County felt comfortable with, that location would be disclosed once a contract was signed.  If not, that decision could take several months, Supervisors said.  

Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl said Monday that he had heard rumors that there was a possibilityof an Allied transfer station being built in Appomattox.  Osl added, however, that neither he nor the Board had spoken to Allied about that site or movement of waste from that site to Cumberlands potential landfill.  

At a point and timewere not there yetbut at a point and time, were going to have to see what the traffic patterns are like from wherever its (trash) coming from.  I dont know what the traffic plans will look like,Osl said Monday.

Virginia Department of Transportation studies would have to be conducted to determine landfill truck routes and traffic patterns, Osl said.

Osl felt Allied would obviously like to have as much flexibility to move traffic to a Cumberland site as necessary, but not at the expense of creating negative relationships with the community.  Osl thought Allied would be willing to work with the County to address the impacts of truck routes, but felt that it would be unrealistic to believe that all portions of  Cumberland are off-limitsto would-be landfill truck traffic.  

Obviously, theres going to have to be traffic coming through certain parts of Cumberland, especially on the state highway system.  Other than that, we can minimize the impact.  Were very concerned about Farmville; were very concerned about our neighboring communities.  And we know that theres going to be a certain burden that were going to have to take within places in Cumberland,Osl said.

Osl said that there would likely be some landfill truck traffic that would come through the Court House sector along Rt. 60.  Were not going to be able to limit it to zero.  Theres going to be some volume there,noting the Boards concern to control landfill truck traffic along that corridor when schools were starting or ending each day.  

At Januarys landfill informational meeting, Supervisors said they did not want landfill traffic to impact Cumberland Court House, Cartersville or Farmville.

The total amount of truck traffic along Rt. 60 will depend on where landfill-bound trash originates, a stipulation that Supervisors have yet to establish, Osl said.  Its going to come from a variety of directions, I would suspect, and well have to see when that happens as to what the impact is, what that means to us and how we deal with it in order to minimize the impact on the roads,Osl said.  

At Januarys public meeting, Supervisors said trash for the potential Cumberland landfill would predominantly come from Virginia but added that some could come from as far away as North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  

06 Landfill Update

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND The County continues to negotiate with Allied Waste, Inc. to site a solid sanitary waste landfill in Cumberland.  

The County is working with Allied to develop a host agreement, which would outline the operational details of the landfill and the potential income it could bring to Cumberland.

Supervisors voted to enter into contract negotiations with Allied after a closed session which followed a landfill public informational meeting on January 23.  The Board has met with representatives from the company on two occasions since that timeonce on February 6 and once on February 13.

According to County Administrator Judy Ownby, no action regarding contract negotiation was taken after the February 6 meeting; the portion of that meeting that dealt with the landfill was closed pursuant to Virginia Code allowances for contract negotiation.  The Herald was not notified of that meeting prior to its occurrence, and learned of the February 13 meeting when speaking to Osl for this story.  

Ms. Ownby told The Herald that the oversight was not intentional and pledged to convey notices of future meetings (adding that the Board has scheduled budget work sessions for February 17, 23 and 27).  

Ms. Ownby explained that after the Board voted to pursue contract negotiations with Allied on January 23, it adjourned until the February 6 meeting to begin that process.  The February 6 meeting was subsequently adjourned to February 13.  

The Board took no action on the landfill contract following its closed discussion on February 13.  

At Januarys public informational meeting, Osl was hopeful that a host agreement could be developed within 30 days  once a company was selected.  Friday morning, during a telephone interview, he felt that the County was still on pace to accomplish that goal.  

So far, were on track.  If anything, wed like to accelerate that track, but theres certain things youve got to do.  Youve got to cross the Ts and dot the Is and so thats what were doing,Osl said.

At Januarys informational meeting, Osl said the details of the host agreement would remain confidential until a contract was signed.  

When we get to a point and time when weve hammered out an agreement that we think is appropriate, well come into open session and pass a resolution to accept that contract.  We cant accept a contract in closed session.  Well do that in an open session,Osl said on Friday.

Once accepted, the host agreement would be made public, Osl said.  But even after that contract is signed, the County may wait several months before announcing a potential site for the landfill, Osl said.  Although the host agreement will deal with some site-related topics like transportation and environmental concerns, it will not address a specific location for the landfill, Osl told citizens in January.

The County has refrained from announcing potential landfill sites, saying that it wants to be sure that the site it ultimately picks will be conducive to permitting, and will have the least impact on citizens and the environment.

At Januarys meeting, Supervisors said if Allied suggested a site they viewed as acceptable during the host agreement phase, they would announce that site after a contract was negotiated during the re-zoning application process.  If consensus could not be reached on a site before the host agreement is finalized, it may take a few months to make that announcement.  

Supervisors have also said that once they hone in on a potential site, they would likely visit citizens in those areas to speak with them about the landfill before publicly announcing that site.

The County has said that it wants to site the landfill where it will not be seen, heard or smelled.  

Osl said Friday that, he, like many citizens, wants to expedite the selection of a suitable site.

Hopefully, we can accelerate that.  Wed like to do that sooner rather than later.  We dont want this hanging out here.  Its a little bit awkward for us, because obviously, work needs to be done and we need to communicate to people.  Weve just got to move that along as quickly as we can,Osl said.

If a host agreement is established, the County would begin working to  update its solid waste management plan, apply for local re-zoning  classification and submit applications for required state and federal regulatory permits.  Those activities would require public hearings, as well.  

The County has said that the landfill would likely accept about 2,500 tons of garbage per day, which would be delivered by about 100 trucks.  The actual surface collection area of the landfill site would cover about 100-200 acres; additional acreage around the landfill would be used as buffer space.  Supervisors toured the Brunswick Waste Management Facility, also owned by Allied, in December.  That site has a collection area of about 250 acres; the remaining 950 acres at that site serve as a buffer.  

Supervisors have estimated that a landfill could generate between $1 and $2 million per year for the County; money that it feels could help fund new school construction and other projects, such as 24-hour emergency services activity.  

Second Landfill Trip

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND A second landfill visit hasnt seemed to change the minds of Supervisors.  The Board intends to continue to work towards negotiating with a company to site a landfill in Cumberland, according to Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl.

The Board has been on kind of a fact-finding journey for the past year, culminating with going out and looking at specific sites.  We havent seen anything that I would call a fatal flaw or a show-stoppersomething that would be a major issue that says, No way.  Were not going to do this. Again, I come back to the point that given our druthers, none of the Board members would like to move forward with doing a landfill.  But given the needs that we have and the options that weve explored, we just dont see other ways of dealing with it and addressing the needs that we have…Were continuing to consider it, and to look forward,Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl said, during a telephone interview following the trip.

On Monday, December 19, Supervisors traveled to Montgomery County, North Carolina, to visit the Uwharrie Environmental Resource Recovery Centera landfill owned by Republic Services.  Republic  is one of two companies that responded to the Countys Request For Proposals to site a landfill in Cumberland.  Supervisors visited the Brunswick Waste Management Facility, owned by the other company, Allied Waste, Inc., on December 7.

Osl said he and his fellow Supervisors are working to identify a site for the Cumberland landfill where it could not be seen, heard or smelled.  Minimizing landfill truck traffic within the county is another concern of Supervisors, as discussions about the landfill continue, Osl said.

If we cant find a site that meets our criteria, then were going to have to stop the process.  Weve got some sites that have been proposed that dont meet the criteria,Osl said.

A County-sponsored public informational meeting about the Cumberland landfill is scheduled for January 23 at the elementary school.  Osl said Supervisors have instructed Republic and Allied to prepare presentations for that meeting, but will probably notify one of the companies prior to that date that it will not be invited.  Osl said Supervisors plan to hold several of its own closed meetings prior to January 23 to select which company to move forward with.

The Uwharrie landfill (located in the town of Mt. Gilead) has a total land area of about 800 acres, the majority being buffer area, Osl said.  About 130 acres are currently permitted for landfill operation.  Osl said Supervisors had discussed a similar-sized landfill for Cumberland during its conversations with the two responding landfill companies.  Supervisors have also said that theyd like to see a Cumberland landfill take in roughly 2,000 to 2,500 tons of garbage each day.  Osl said that was comparable to the amount accepted daily at the Uwharrie site.  

About 100 waste trucks visit the Uwharrie landfill each day, using a 12-mile stretch of secondary road off of U.S. Rt. 220  to get to the site, Osl said.  About 85 percent of the truck traffic for the landfill travels through the North Carolina towns of Biscoe (population 2,000) and Troy (pop. 5,000) to arrive at the landfill, Osl said Supervisors were told.  

Osl said Supervisors met with Montgomery County Manager Lance Metzler, who had no negative comments on the operation of the landfill or traffic routing.  Supervisors also reviewed independent traffic studies which found that landfill trucks did not adversely impact the traffic flow in Montgomerys towns, Osl said.

Osl said Metzler also told Supervisors that the landfill had produced no noticeable impact on land values in Montgomery County.  

His (Metzlers) comment was that there really was no negative impact on the community,Osl said.

Osl said he suspected that analysis was based upon the maturity of the landfill operation.  Osl felt that most landfills were faced with problems like odor, road debris and truck traffic when they first opened, but thought that the operations hed seen addressed those issues over time to correct them, helping to make the landfills more palatable in their respective counties.  

We just dont get much negative input from the communities that weve visited,Osl said, noting that both sites Supervisors have gone to have been in existence for several years.  Osl said the Uwharrie site faced citizen opposition when it was originally proposed, but like some of the other landfills the County has investigated, over time, that opposition has appeared to have lessened.  Not because the people go awaysome do, but many dont,Osl said.  

Allied bought some land contiguous to their Brunswick site from homeowners; some didnt sell and stayed on their land.  Republic did not offer to buy property from landowners at the Uwharrie site, Osl said.

We get this kind of mixed input on people, but a lot of it seems to be emotional that appears to die out over time.  I hope thats not biased on my part as Im looking at this thing.  Each of the Board members tries to take the view of What is it that our constituents have as concerns that theyve either expressed to us or that they have about the operation of this thing. We try to poke at those questions and see them with our own eyes and evaluate whether or not those problems are real or (are) things that can be addressed,Osl said.

The Uwharrie site opened in January, 1996.  It generates about $1.5 million for Montgomery County each year, Osl said.  Republic also contributes to a number of charitable organizations in the County, Osl said Supervisors were told.  Republic is currently considering (like Allieds Brunswick landfill) to sell the methane generated by the Uwharrie landfill as an energy source to other companies.  

The site is built across the road from the Countys old landfill which is now closed.  When Republic sited the new landfill, it took over management and monitoring of the old County landfill.

To its east, the landfill property adjoins the Uwharrie National Forest, Osl said.  A stream from that Forest runs through the landfill site, Osl said.  Osl said Republic representatives at the site told him that Federal permitting agencies did not object to the siting of the landfill despite its proximity to the Forest.  

About 45 landowners own property on the remaining borders of the landfill, Osl said, but noted that about one-third of that total were actual residential sites.

There are a number of them that still live there.  This is a relatively  rural area.  There about 28,000 people in the county, so it is significantly bigger than Cumberland and its also bigger in land mass.  Its more about the size of Buckingham.  Its spread out a bit more, so theres not a lot of development around the immediate landfill.  There are a number of homeowners that have houses and/or farms around the landfill property,Osl said.

Like the Allied facility in Brunswick, the same multi-layered, hard-plastic lined cell waste collection structure is used at the Uwharrie landfill.

The Uwharrie site uses dirt to cover waste as the landfill closes.  The Allied site in Brunswick used a spray-on cement kiln dust to cover its landfill face each night, which could be removed or covered over with new garbage on the following business day.  

The dirt-cover method is costly, Osl said, adding that the Uwharrie site has to use a lot of the spare land on its 800-acre site for that purpose.  By February, the Uwharrie site plans to begin using the spray-on dust as well.

Odor is apparently not a problem.  Again, its tied into the operation of the landfill.  If you do a good job of covering up your waste on a daily basis and have a good gas recovery system, they claim that substantially takes care of odors,Osl said.

Osl said Supervisors could not smell the garbage at the site when standing directly over it on tippershydraulic lifts used to empty trailers of waste onto the face of the landfill.  Bulldozers then move that trash to the working portion of the site where it is compacted for burial.  

Youre right at the landfill site (while standing on the tippers).  At the Brunswick site, we were a couple of hundred feet away.  At this one, we were literally right on the edge of it, watching the whole operation.  

I suspect that time of year must be a benefit (in regards to the lack of smell)…There were cool but mild temperatures without any wind blowing.  I suspect that (because) of those cool temperatures the trash thats coming in really has almost no smell to it.  Obviously, it must smell, but just standing there, right at the edge of it, theres no offensive aromanothing where youd say, Yep, this is a dump; I can smell it. In warmer weather, I suspect maybe some of that stuff will cook a little bit more and have a different impact.  Therefore, the covering operations are probably more important.  For this time of year, it works very well,Osl said.

Fences have been erected downwind of the landfill site to catch any trash that may be blown by the wind.  A landfill worker collects this garbage and re-deposits it into the landfill, Osl said.

Excluding the obvious trash collection area, Osl said Supervisors felt the Uwharrie site was clean, including roadways leading to the facility.  Trucks entering and exiting the site use a long gravel and paved interior road which help to keep tires from carrying mud and debris back onto secondary roads, Osl said.

The roads leading to the landfill are free of debris.  Its not like the litter is blowing off of the trucks and piling up alongside the roads.  Both operations (Uwharrie and Brunswick) showed that was true.  And the roads themselves were clean from any build-up of dirt or anything else on the tires that might get on the roadway surface,Osl said.

Montgomery County relies upon Republics inspectors for assuring the Uwharrie sites compliance.  Osl said if Cumberland were to site a landfill, it would use County employees for such procedures.  

Supervisors traveled to the Uwharrie site in Osls vehicle and returned to Cumberland later the same day.  

Brunswick Landfill Opinions

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Supervisors traveled to Gilead, North Carolina on Monday to research the Uwharrie landfill operated by Republic, Inc.one of two landfill companies that submitted proposals to site a private landfill in Cumberland.

On December 7, Supervisors visited the Brunswick Waste Management Facility, owned by Allied Waste, the other company looking to put a landfill in the county. 

The Herald reported on that first trip in its December 14 edition, chronicling Supervisorsreactions to what they saw.  As a follow-up, The Herald contacted Brunswick County officials and othersincluding the Department of Environmental Quality, and a citizen who led the charge against the landfillfor their input.

According to Brunswick County Treasurer Alice Maitland, Allieds landfill generated about $2.2 million last year for Brunswick.  According to the first quarterly report for 2005-06 which arrived recently, the County is projected to make about that same profit in the upcoming year, Ms. Maitland said.

The Brunswick facility takes in about 4,400 tons of trash per day.  Recently, Cumberland Second District Supervisor Cliff White said that in its discussions with landfill companies, Cumberland had talked about taking in about 2,000 to 2,500 tons of garbage per day if a landfill were sited in the County.

When the landfill was first built eight years ago, Brunswick County split the money generated from the landfill with its Industrial Development Authority.  In recent years, that stipulation was abolished, following opposition from citizens who felt that the revenue could be better accounted for if it were managed by the County.  Now the County receives 100 percent of that revenue, which it can then appropriate to other projects and agencies, including the IDA.  

The County uses the majority of revenue generated by the landfill for Capital Improvement Projects; a small portion is used for operational expenses, Ms. Maitland said.  

The County built several refuse Convenience Centersmanned garbage collection sites using some of the  landfill-generated money, replacing most of its un-manned green-bin dumpster sites, Maitland said.   This year, for the first time, landfill dollars were also used to pay the employees working at the Convenience Center sites.  County garbage trucks pick up garbage from the Convenience Centers and haul it to the landfill.

Brunswick also now directly channels some landfill revenue into its school debt service fund, using that money and other funding sources to pay for add-on construction at its schools.  A new gym, cafeteria and ninth grade wing are being added to the county high school.    

Ms. Maitland said revenue from the landfill has had little impact on Brunswicks taxes.  Since the landfill does not fund operational expenses, those costs are still absorbed by taxpayers, she said.  Some projects, such as the Convenience Centers, would likely not have been built without landfill revenue.  

Allied pays Brunswick quarterly based on tipping fees, Ms. Maitland said.  Brunswick citizens do not have to pay to dump garbage at the landfill.

Current Brunswick County Administrator Tammy Newcomb said Allied has been fine to work with.

Anytime that any problems have come up, theyve been very responsive as far as providing information or working with us on issues,Ms. Newcomb said.  The relationship that Brunswick County has had with Allied has been fine,she added.

Ms. Newcomb has served as County Administrator since October.  Prior to that, she served as the assistant to former County Administrator Gerald Vincent.  Ms. Newcomb said she has worked with Brunswick County since the Allied landfill was first brought online.  

Howard Settle, the former Chairman of the Brunswick Board of Supervisors during the siting of the landfill, said he considers the project to be one of the best things thats ever happened to the county.

Prior to Allieds landfill, another company called AEGIS Waste Solutions had propositioned Brunswick about opening a site there.  Following considerable opposition from a group of citizens, Brunswicks five-member Board of Supervisors were tied two-two on a vote to grant a conditional use permit to AEGIS in 1993.  Settle broke the tie, voting to grant the permit.

A citizen-led group brought suits against the Supervisors who supported the landfill, and against AEGIS and DEQ for boundary issues on the property in question, taking some cases as far as the Virginia Supreme Court.  However, citizens were eventually overruled in all those cases.

But AEGIS was unable to pay for the completion of the landfill and sold it to Allied in 1996, according to Allieds Brunswick Waste Facility Manager Jeff Burrier.  Allied completed the remainder of construction and opened the landfill in 1997.

Settle estimated that Allieds landfill has generated about $8-10 million for the County since its inception.  

Keep in mind that Id rather see Motorola come in and have a nice, clean business that brought in a stream of revenue of a million or so dollars a year, but we dont have the people to work something like that.  We dont have the skills.  It was maybe the best deal that we could hope for in respect to revenue,Settle said.

Settle mentioned school expansion and courthouse construction as some of the projects that have been funded by landfill revenue, saying that taxes would have had to be doubled to produce the same results.  He preferred that the County spend that money for such Capital Projects, and not for general fund expenses, he said.  He said that citizen opposition to the landfill has quieted considerably in recent years.  

Settle said he did not think many families were displaced by the siting of the landfill and felt that Allieds construction of a road into the site helped to alleviate traffic congestion from trucks delivering waste.

Settle commended Jeff Burrier for his management of the Brunswick landfill.

One of the citizens who led the fight against the landfill, Jerry Marston, said the Brunswick landfill was now superior to many others.  

Weve probably got one of the better landfills in the state of Virginia because of the people and what we asked for and what we got.  This landfill has 82 conditions on it,Marston said, adding that he wished a condition would have been put in place that would have not allowed as much trash to be taken in at the site each day.  Marston said originally, AEGIS had proposed to bring in about 700 tons of waste per day to the site.  Allieds 4,400-tons-per-day-operation brings truck traffic that many citizens still oppose, Marston said.  

Marston encouraged Cumberland citizens to voice their opinion on siting conditions if a landfill came to their county.

We have some noise from it.  We have some smell from it.  We have seagulls that come from Lake Gaston down here.  But were living with a landfill we cant do without anymore,Marston said.

Like Settle, Marston said he thought the County was better served by using money from the landfill for Capital Projects as t in the past, and did not favor the Countys current decision to use some of that revenue for general fund projects.  He warned Cumberland to avoid such a practice.  Whatever people do, they shouldnt use the money that comes from a landfill and use it in the general fund, because the day that that dries up is going to be…devastating to them,Marston said.  

Like Settle, Marston complimented Burrier and his attentiveness to citizensconcerns about the landfill.  Its run right.  Allieds a good company,Marston said.  

Vernon Williams, an Enforcement Officer for the Department of Environmental Qualitys Piedmont Regional Office also said that the Brunswick site was one of the better-managed landfill sites in Virginia.  However, Williams confirmed that on November 9, 2004, DEQ issued a Notice of Violation against the Brunswick Waste Management Facility for stemming from the findings of a September 2004 DEQ inspection.  

According to a copy of the Enforcement Action Order issued by the Waste Management Board, DEQ inspectors found that a disclosure statement from the landfill filed on June 1, 2004 appeared to be incomplete and incorrect; inspectors also cited record keeping deficiencies, specifically a lack of documentation of Saturday landfill inspections.  The Order also showed that Brunswick County Inspection Staff who worked on the premises of the landfill had not been included in the site safety training program.

Additionally, the landfill was cited for an un-permitted discharge of leachate into state waters that was not reported to DEQ in the required 24-hour time frame established by its permit.  

Williams said the leak occurred on a weekend when a landfill supervisor was not on duty.  A weekend worker failed to report the leak, Williams said, adding that the supervisor did not become aware of the leak until Monday morning.  Once the supervisor found out about the problem, he notified DEQ, Williams said.  

According to Williams, a small amount of leachate (the specific amount was unknown, he said) was released into a nearby stream following a control panel malfunction.  Allied monitors sampled the stream after the contamination and turned those results over to DEQ, Williams said.  Those findings showed that environmental dangers were minimal,Williams said, noting that the amount of leachate in the stream was of little concern to DEQ.

During a meeting with landfill staff on December 13, 2004, DEQ representatives were informed that all of the cited violations had been corrected.  The landfill was ordered to pay a civil charge of $3,150 for the violations, and did so, Williams said.  As far as were concerned, this case is closed,Williams said.  

Williams said he was unaware of other violations by the landfill, noting that inspectors may have found minor problems that were corrected immediately.  This landfill has a reputation of being run very well,Williams said, of Allieds Brunswick facility.  We dont seem to have a whole lot of concern with them.  They are pretty knowledgeable people and have staff that know whats going on.  The fact that I have one order here thats due to a malfunction on a weekend indicates that.  If there was a problem at that landfill then I would have seen their name a lot more, being in enforcement,Williams said.

Burrier said those violations were the only ones ever cited against the Brunswick landfill, and were the first of his careerprior to coming to Brunswick, he designed several landfills,  helped develop one as a consultant, and managed one for Allied in Kentucky.

It was unfortunate, but it was a testament to how closely regulated the facilities are,Burrier said, of the citations against the Brunswick site.

Burrier said the leachate incident occurred following storms from two successive hurricanes that occurred roughly one week apart.  A new landfill cell was being opened when the storms swept through and leachate leaked into the sites stormwater system, he explained.  Burrier said his company collected stormwater specimens and actually drained that overflow pond, but found no harmful levels in that pond or adjoining streams, as verified by Williams.

Burrier said that Allied had also been conducting the Saturday inspections that it was cited for, but had not documented them.  As for the record keeping deficiencies, Burrier said they dealt with vehicle inspections which were being done, but were not reported according to DEQs specifications.  

The inspections were taking place and they were documented.  DEQ wanted us to re-write the program, the written guidance document.  It didnt change the inspections; it didnt change the way we do the inspections.  It wasnt a failure on the inspection program, they just wanted the document re-written,Burrier said.

In regards to the citation for not including County inspectors in Allied safety training, Burrier said that originally, staff members were trained independently by their own Director of Solid Waste.  DEQ felt that since that County staff worked full-time at the landfill with Allied employees, they should be included in Allieds safety program.  The correction was just to include them into our safety program and document it.  And so now, we do our safety meetings jointly with the County.  It was an easy change because it was just an invitation and it was done,Burrier said.

Burrier said DEQ visits the site for inspections at least quarterly, noting that County inspectors work onsite full-time.  The site underwent its latest DEQ inspection last week, he said.

Burrier said that Allied has tried to learn from the DEQ citation, and has implemented contingency plans for multiple-hurricane events.  

The entire Allied staff is trained on spill prevention, stormwater management, and identification of unacceptable materials, Burrier said.

Burrier confirmed that Allied was generating about $2.2 2.3 million in host fees for Brunswick per year.  Additionally, the landfill saves the County about $600,000-700,000 per year that it would spend to haul its trash elsewhere, he said.  

The host agreement allows Brunswick citizens to deposit 20,000 tons of trash each year at no cost.  That total is adjusted according to the census, and increases about three percent each year due to population growth, Burrier said.  

The County established a provision to allow businesses to deposit up to 100 tons of trash into the landfill per year at no cost.  Businesses exceeding that limit pay below-market dumping fees directly to the County, Burrier said.  

Allied reimburses the County for landfill inspection, an average annual savings of about $115,000, Burrier said.

Citizens strongly opposed Allieds siting in Brunswick eight years ago, Burrier acknowledged, but said that opposition has dwindled over time.  When we do what we say were going to do, we start to earn trust in the community…Back in 94 when they were doing the public hearings, there were hundreds of people at the meetings; in 98, we did an expansion and there was maybe 50, including those for and against.  So the issue tends to not be as melodramatic as time goes on as we show the community what we do and how we do it,Burrier said.  

His company has helped to provide about 60 jobs in the community (80 percent of whom, he says, are Brunswick residents) and has worked to bolster the local economy by spending with Brunswick merchants for automotive parts, building materials, fuel and uniforms.

The Brunswick landfill serves as a corporate sponsor of several local arts councils and is involved with civic organizations like the Rotary Club, Burrier said.  Allied management also works closely with the Brunswick schools, for career day events and student tours, Burrier said.

Only about half of the Brunswick sites available land area has been developed.  Allied will soon begin expanding onto some of that free space, building new collection cells, Burrier said.  To expand, the company will be required to apply for additional permits from regulatory agencies and hold public hearings; the entire process will take about a year to 18 months, Burrier said.

Allied is currently considering using methane produced from the landfill to generate electricity onsite for sale back into the local grid system.  Another option would be to sell the methane to a local brick company, which could use it as a fuel source to fire its burners, Burrier said.  

The landfill is expected to be closed in about 25 years, but the methane would still be available for use for about 20 years after that time, Burrier said.

According to regulatory agencies like the EPA and DEQ, Allied would still be required to maintain and manage all the systems at the landfill once trash collection operations ceased, Burrier said.  

At closure, the only thing that stops is that we stop taking waste and we have to close the facility.  But there are still activities going on for at least 30 years,Burrier said.

First Landfill Trip

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Supervisors adjourned last Tuesdays regular Board meeting to a decidedly different venue: a landfill.

All five Supervisors traveled to the Brunswick Waste Management Facility on Wednesday, December 7, to get a first-hand look at an operational landfill.  The facility is owned and managed by Allied Waste, Inc., one of the two companies that has submitted proposals to site a landfill in the county.  Supervisors will visit a landfill owned by the other company, Republic, on December 19.  That facilitythe Uwaharrie Landfillis located in Mt. Gilead, North Carolina.  

Supervisors have scheduled a landfill public informational meeting for January 23 at 7 p.m. at the County elementary school.  By that time, the County may have selected one of the two companies to begin the negotiation process, Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Osl said.  

When the RFP (Request For Proposal) gets awarded, it really is just the beginning of a process.  It doesnt commit anybody to anything yet.  After the RFP is awarded, well have to sit down and hammer out whats called a host agreement…thats all this detail (about) what will be included in an agreement and so forth.  Thats going to take a bit of time to negotiate.  That wont happen before the January 23 meeting,Osl said.  

Following that, if the County continues to move forward, a landfill company would have to apply for a re-zoning classification or a conditional use permit.  The County Comprehensive Plan and Solid Waste Management Plan would both have to be updated, Osl said, estimating that it would take 6-8 months before the County began to seek permitting applications from agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality.

If approved, it would take about two to three years to have the landfill ready for opening, Osl said.

Following the trip, when contacted by The Herald, Osl and Second District Supervisor Cliff White shared insight on the tour.  

The trip was initiated by Supervisors, who contacted Allied about visiting one of its three Virginia landfill sites. Supervisors rode together in Osls vehicle to visit the facility, County Administrator Judy Ownby said.  Allied Waste Development Manager Ted Neura said his company did not pay for the trip.

In order to meet with the necessary landfill management teams, Supervisors organized the trip in advance.  Osl said that based upon his prior business experience making similar factory visits, he was aware that companies often polish upto present their best appearance for potential clients.  

Its not too difficult to pick that stuff out, to tell you the truth.  What they cant hide is the operation thats going on real-time while its there, so you kind of get a good view of the operation in its true sense,Osl said.

Osl said the Board selected the Brunswick site because they felt it would be somewhat comparable to what Cumberland was considering in regards to demographics, agricultural makeup, surrounding land area, etc.  Osl noted that Lawrencevillewhich is near the sitewas more similar to Farmville, but felt the remainder of Brunswick was comparable to Cumberland.  

The Brunswick Waste Management Facility was opened eight years ago.  Its actual landfill trash collection site occupies about 250 acres, according to Neura.  The entire site spans about 1,200 acres, the majority of which is used as buffer property.

The Brunswick facility accepts about 4,400 tons of refuse per day.  About 200 refuse trucks visit the landfill each day.  

White said that in their discussions about a potential Cumberland landfill, Supervisors have discussed a site that would accommodate about 2,000 to 2,500 tons of garbage per day.  

Osl said that during its discussions with potential landfill companies, the County has not considered any restrictions on where potential trash may come from.  Allied representatives, he said, mentioned accepting refuse from across Virginia and possibly Maryland, if the County established a contract with their company.  It looks like a lot of it (garbage) would come from within Virginia, but I wouldnt limit it to just that,Osl said.

One portion of the Brunswick landfill is devoted entirely to accepting refuse from Montgomery County, Maryland, including a large portion that is incinerated into ash into Maryland before being shipped to Brunswick.  The other portion of the landfill takes in trash from sources inside and outside of Virginia.  

The Brunswick site has major advantages in its transportation access, Osl said, referencing its proximity to Rt. 58,  Interstate 85 and rail service.  

Osl and White both commented that they were surprised and impressed at the lack of odor at the Brunswick landfill, Osl noting that Allied had worked to reduce odors following input from citizens.  Osl said he could not smell anythingwhen a couple hundred feet awayfrom the active face of the landfill.  

Osl said it was a mild day without wind, acknowledging those conditions could have contributed to the lack of odor.

The entire trash collection  site is not used all at once.  The landfill uses individual cellslined basins created as neededto hold trash.  The cells are usually several acres in size.  Cells are opened on an as-needed basis to accommodate new waste management technology, Osl said.  

The Brunswick landfill operates from 6 a.m. 6 p.m.  At night, a film of cement kiln dust is sprayed onto open cells.  That dust hardens, forming a rigid shell that prevents animals from getting into the trash, White explained.  Tarps and soil are also used to cover the cells.  Each morning, work crews open the cells back up again, he said.

Supervisors observed a new cell during one of its early construction phases.  Osl and White described the structure of the cells, which use a two-three foot clay bottom that is covered with gravel, a rigid plastic liner (made from a thicker form of the material used for gas cans and car batteries), another cover, and more gravel.  

Each cell floor pitched at an angle to collect liquid that may leach through a portion of the liner into a corner.  A pumping system lies at the bottom corner of the cell to siphon leachate away, the Supervisors said.  

White said it was explained that if an object punched through the liner, the slope of the cell would help to reduce the amount of liquid that would leak through (especially in cases where the object remained lodged in the hole in the liner).  Liquid that did penetrate the liner would leak down to the pumping corner to be siphoned off, White said he was told.  

Osl also noted that Supervisors were told that the seals of the hard plastic liner are pressure tested according to EPA regulations to ensure they are stronger than the liner itself before any material is deposited into them.  

White, a military engineer, felt that the EPA and other agencies like the Department of Environmental quality would not permit landfills if they werent safe.

When asked about citizensconcerns about leaching, Osl acknowledged landfill companies will not guarantee that such problems wont occur.  They wont do a guarantee, but neither will an automobile manufacturer or an airplane that we fly on or anything else.  We just dont have those kind of guarantees in life.  This is one thats there that they wont provide guarantee for, but it sure looks like in the redundancy of the system that its almost as good as sending a guy to the moon…The difference here is that it doesnt have to be done at the lowest cost,Osl said.

Osl said that the  County has checked into the safety and financial backgrounds of the two potential landfill companies, noting that he felt each companys records were very clean.

I wont say that some of the companies that theyve acquired over the years havent had some problems.  But when I look at the parent companies of Allied and Republic and I look at their financial statements and litigation activities, they have very good track records,Osl said.  

Osl said that Supervisors intend to speak to some citizens who live near the Brunswick landfill to see what effect the landfill has had on their day-to-day lives.   Osl said Supervisors met with Ella Ridley, the Brunswick County Solid Waste Management Director whose office is actually sited on the landfill property.  Supervisors met with her apart from Allied employees or managers, Osl added.

From what we could tell from talking to the county administration and to her, there were issues, obviously, when the landfill started up; there were people who had various concerns.  Today, they (the concerns) seem to have gone away,Osl said.  Property owners voiced little opposition to the facility today, Osl said Supervisors were told.  

Ms. Ridley confirmed that statement Tuesday morning.  People have seen that its not as bad as they thought it was going to be.  As far as odors go, the odors are down pretty much.  At one point, they did have some problems with it.  Thats been resolved.  Theyre working on it still, but the odor has really gotten under control,Ms. Ridley said.

Most homeowners directly in the vicinity of the landfill construction site sold sell their property to the company prior to landfill construction, Ms. Ridley noted, saying that a handful of homes still are scattered around the landfillone which her work crews can see easily during their daily operations.  

Ms. Ridley called the management of the landfill very cooperative.

One of the citizensinitial concerns at the Brunswick facility was truck traffic, Osl said.  Allied built a VDOT approved road leading onto the landfill property to relieve some traffic congestion, Osl said.  That road was then donated to VDOT.  Osl said if the County proceeded with a landfill, it could negotiate for similar improvements if access proved cumbersome.  

Osl said the Brunswick site used several local contractors for construction as individual cells were built.  Allied employs about 25 of its own workers at the Brunswick site, but works closely with local businesses to help provide jobs to nearly 50 more citizens, Osl said Supervisors were told.  Also, Osl noted that Allied representatives said the company spends  over $800,000 per year with Brunswick quarry Vulcan Industries for crushed stone used to line cells.    

Landfill Proposals Arrive

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND The County has received proposals from two companies regarding the construction of a solid waste landfill, according to County Administrator Judy Ownby.  

In July, Supervisors voted to issue a Request For Proposals to site a sanitary solid waste landfill in the county.  Wednesday, Supervisors met in a closed session to review the proposals.

Ms. Ownby said the County received qualifying proposals from Republic, of Florida, and Allied Waste, of Arizona.  No further details regarding proposals were released.

According to its website, Republic currently serves 80 markets in 22 states.

Allied owns and operates 166 active landfills in the U.S.

Allieds Eastern Area Project Development Manager Ted Neura attended a community informational meeting on his companys landfill design process in early November, saying that traditionally, his company searches for sites in the 700-1,500-acre range for its landfills.  

A third company, Waste Management, Inc., of Houston, Texas, which operates the Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility in Amelia, responded to the RFP, but was determined to be non-qualifying.  Waste Management did not propose to build a landfill, but to haul trash from Cumberlands transfer stations to the Amelia landfill, Ms. Ownby said, noting that such a proposal would generate no revenue for the County.  

The County has proposed that a landfill that accepts waste from other localities would help to fund construction of the new middle/high school complex proposed by the School Board, as well as other County projects.

County Attorney Darvin Satterwhite said that the County reviewed the proposals in a closed session in order to protect its negotiating power.  What youre really beginning when you look at those bid proposals is starting your contract negotiation,Satterwhite said.  

Supervisors entered closed session under the Virginia Freedom of Information Acts Section 2.2-3711, which allows closed meetings for the purpose of consultation with legal counsel regarding real or probable litigation, where such consultation in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body.

Satterwhite said the County will now move forward with negotiations between the two qualifying companies, but those negotiations will still likely be carried out behind closed doors.  To the extent that you make public what each one (company) is or isnt willing to do, you undercut your negotiating position in getting your contracts done…As long as youre negotiating and you havent made an award, or entered into an agreement, it really has to be kept in closed session, otherwise you undercut your ability to contract with either party,Satterwhite said.

If the County were able to negotiate an agreement, the contract would be executed in a public meeting, although a public hearing would not be required for the County to sign a contract, Satterwhite said.  

But any contract you sign with anybody on something like this is always dependent upon the property being re-zoned.  And there are public hearings on that at the Planning Commission and Board level and any of these contracts we sign will have a re-zoning contingency with us.  In other words, the granting of the contract is not going to necessarily obligate us (the County) to grant the re-zoning,Satterwhite said.  

The RFP allows the County to consider the proposals for 60 days, but that review period can be extended if all involved parties agree to allow such an extension.  

Landfill

By JASON NORTON

CUMBERLAND Once again, the deadline for landfill bids has been extended.

Last Monday, during a recessed Board meeting, Supervisors consented to set a November 16, 2 p.m. cutoff for proposals from companies interested in building a landfill in the County.  

Supervisors voted in July to issue a Request For Proposals to site a sanitary solid waste landfill in the county.  Originally, bids were to be turned in to the County by October 1.  That deadline was later extended to October 31 when two companies that had expressed interest in the project asked for more time to submit bids.

The latest extension comes as a result of a request from Republic Services, Inc. which is headquartered in Florida, County Administrator Judy Ownby said.  Ms. Ownby said Republic had contacted the County saying that due to inconveniences from recent hurricanes they had not been able to draft a bid.  

Supervisors said Monday that no further deadline extensions will be set.  The Board will meet on November 16 at 7 p.m. in a closed meeting to review the bids.

Ms. Ownby said Thursday morning that no proposals have been submitted to the County.  Prior to the October 31 extension, she said that four companies had expressed interest in the project.  On Thursday morning, she said that those companies had all been notified of the November 16 extension.  

Supervisors have proposed the siting of a landfill as a means of financing a new middle/high school complex, a project that has been championed by the School Board.  

Early estimates have placed construction of that new school complex at roughly $36.8 million.  In a meeting with the School Board in early October, Supervisors said they hoped a landfill could generate enough capital to offset the bulk of new school construction, but said such data would be determined after proposals were obtained and negotiations regarding tipping fees began.  

Supervisors voted that the County procure four architectural/engineering firms to assist the County with potential projects over the next three years.  In the event of a project requiring A/E services, the County could request bids from any and all of the companies before awarding a contract.

Following a suggestion from Ms. Ownby, Supervisors ranked the four firms in the following contact order: Draper Aden (of Richmond), HDH Associates (Christiansburg), the Timmons Group (Richmond) and Austin Brockenbraugh and Associates (Chester).  

Draper Aden had served as the Countys primary firm over the past three years, but due to the expiration of that contract, the County recently submitted a request for engineering proposals.  Ms. Ownby said the County had been in discussion with all four of the firms.  County Attorney Darvin Satterwhite said the County could go ahead and rank the firms.

Nine firms responded to the RFP, according to Ms. Ownby.  

Supervisors approved a proposal from HDH Associates, which will perform an independent review of the proposed architectural schematics for the proposed new middle/high school complex which were drafted by the architectural firm of Rodriguez, Ripley, Maddux & Motley.  

The County called for an independent review of the plans to determine if any measures could be taken to reduce the cost of the proposed $36.8 million complex.  HDH will also look at the potential costs associated with expanding the elementary school, Supervisors said.

HDHs independent review will reportedly cost $21,000.