Dive Brief:
- Tuesday's public hearing regarding the planned expansion of a Chesterfield County landfill into a nearby quarry has stirred controversy. Many residents opposed the expansion due to concerns about odor control, ground pollution, and toxins.
- Since the 1990s, Shoosmith Bros. Inc. has been pursuing permits that would allow it to expand from its landfill off Iron Bridge Road into the adjacent, active rock quarry. In 1999, the DEQ certified that the location was acceptable for expanded landfill operations.
- The existing landfill has a capacity of 22.5 million tons and took in 1.3 million tons of waste in 2014, according to the DEQ's 2015 solid waste report.
Dive Insight:
This is not the first time that residents have fought proposals to change the landfill. In 2013, a proposed reconfiguration of the existing landfill drew opposition from neighbors, who worried about its proximity to Swift Creek and housing developments. Kyle Winter, the deputy regional director for the DEQ's Piedmont office, said the DEQ has already received written comments about the expansion, some expressing opposition.
If the landfill were to be expanded, its design would include a "vertical liner support system" constructed with "concrete, vinyl sheet piles, and/or soil." It would be constructed to collect groundwater that accumulates below the liner and to isolate groundwater and surface water.
Winter notes that quarry landfills are relatively uncommon. There is one in Bristol, VA.
