Citing no remediation of repeated violations, the state orders the owner to close and do necessary prep work on Puddledock Road site

RICHMOND — The state has revoked the permit to operate the Tri-City Regional Landfill in Petersburg, citing the landfill owner's failure to correct numerous violations over trash piles and excessive odors.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced Wednesday afternoon that landfill owner CFS Group Disposal and Recycling Services LLC is no longer allowed to accept solid waste at its Puddledock Road location. DEQ has granted CFS a limited permit to close the landfill and conduct required post-closure service on the location in accordance with state regulations.

Among the violations repeatedly cited at Puddledock Road include exceeding the maximum allowable waste pile height, inadequately covering exposed waste, not maintaining the required amount of extra waste cover to shield the surrounding area from odor, and failure to address the violations in a timely manner.

“These violations, as well as previous issues covered in consent orders issued by the Waste Management Board to CFS, represent a pattern of serious and repeated abuse,” DEQ Director David Paylor said in a statement released by DEQ. “The Commonwealth of Virginia has made it clear that non-compliance like this will not stand.”

Wednesday's action is the latest chapter in an ongoing battle among Petersburg and state officials, and the owners of the landfill, over conditions at the site. Residents who live in the immediate area of the landfill — and even some who live downwind from it — have repeatedly complained about the stench emitting from the landfill.

Last November, the state filed a lawsuit against CFS for repeated violations at the Puddledock Road landfill. In the suit, the DEQ claimed CFS was notified on four different occasions between September 2015 and August 2018 of the violations, but they were never remediated. A special hearing was held on the matter last June.

DEQ said CFS has the right to appeal the decision.

CFS currently has the trash pickup contracts for the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell. Recently in Hopewell, the city adopted a raise in the contract rate with CFS to continue collection. In Colonial Heights, city officials were told by citizens of repeated delays in curbside trash pickup, and when they probed CFS about it, they were told that CFS was having to haul all of the collected material to its landfill near Lunenburg, about an hour south of the Tri-Cities.

"Council has had many concerns over the last couple of years. Many of our citizens contacted us and were calling us over concerns about the landfill," said Colonial Heights Mayor T. Gregory Kochuba. "Mainly we were concerned about the smell and whether or not the runoff goes into the Appomattox River."

He added that Colonial Heights City Council has called CFS in for updates on numerous occasions, where council voiced these concerns.

Petersburg's public information office is telling residents that CFS will continue collecting trash in that city, taking it to the landfill in Lunenburg as it has done since 2018. If at any point the Lunenberg station cannot be used, CVWMA has planned to come in as an emergency option. No expected fees were given in that potential situation.

Last year, Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, initiated a community meeting between citizens and CFS officials to address the concerns. However, that meeting ended rather acrimoniously when CFS told the residents that odor was a natural issue involving landfills.

On Wednesday, Aird issued a statement blasting CFS for its "irresponsible and unethical actions," saying those issues have been "recognized and addressed" by DEQ.

"Their failure to maintain their landfill in accordance to DEQ standards placed an undue burden on the quality of life for my constituents living within the vicinity of the landfill and it is clear that the revocation of their permit by the Commonwealth was the necessary outcome,” Aird said in the statement. "The revocation today ensures the facility is no longer permitted to accept solid waste."

Aird said she has asked DEQ for clarity on potential future uses for the land.

Bill Atkinson can be reached at batkinson@progress-index.com or 804-722-5167.