New Kent supervisors vote to send letter opposing DEQ permit for Synagro

When a person is looking for information on a specific item, they usually go see an expert. For New Kent supervisors, their knowledgeable person is District 5 representative Ray Davis.

After receiving input from Davis, supervisors unanimously voted 5-0 to send a letter to Virginia’s State Water Control Board opposing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and its consideration to issue a permit to Synagro to dump industrial waste in the county.

Supervisors first heard the issue at the July regular meeting from concerned citizens. Opponents said Synagro’s reputation involving other Virginia localities and their inability to handle industrial and residual waste would spill over into New Kent. Those opponents also said adjacent boards from King & Queen and King William have already sent letters to the State Water Control Board opposing the permits.

Those issues and concerns carried over to a July 30 work session, where New Kent supervisors spoke for more than an hour on the issue. Supervisors elected not to take action on that date, citing a desire for more input from Davis who was not in attendance.

Citizens returned to address the board at the Aug. 11 regular meeting, making pleas for county supervisors to vote against the permit.

“This is industrial waste, not biosolids,” said James Poole, noting how waste from RockTenn paper mill, Tyson Foods, and Smithfield Foods chose samples to present to DEQ for review. “DEQ has no standards on handling industrial waste.

“It will take the ground 18 months for the ground food to be edible for livestock, and 24 months for human consumption,” Poole concluded.

All eyes turned to Davis on the issue for his advice. He responded with full confidence and expertise.

“DEQ hasn’t shown us [supervisors] anything that indicates any positive outcome of this stuff,” Davis said. “I have held it and until someone proves it will improve our land, I don’t want it in our community.

“No one even said how many tons per acre of this stuff would be placed on it,” the District 5 representative continued. “It’s not going to help us and I don’t want it.”

Other supervisors echoed Davis’ sentiments.

“As I said last week, if it’s not safe enough to dump in the Chesapeake Bay, then it’s not safe enough to dump on our land,” said District 4 supervisor Ron Stiers, reiterating his stance from the work session. “If it’s too dangerous to breathe, it’s too dangerous to drink.

“The location is right on the Pamunkey River as well,” he continued. “I would dread to see what happens when this stuff gets into the groundwater. It may not happen during our generation, but if it was dumped here, it would eventually get there.”

“This stuff is affecting more than humans,” chimed in District 3 representative James Burrell. “It’s affecting wildlife and will do so.”

With all comments made, Davis’ motion to write a letter of opposition passed 5-0. And even if the permit is granted to Synagro, Stiers wanted a stern message sent on possible measures the county may take.

“King William, King & Queen, and Goochland are all against this,” he said. “If this goes through, I want to see if our county attorney could get with these other jurisdictions to see if we can take legal action against DEQ.”