Methane gas releases from old landfill had exceeded safety levels; MC fined $7,235
Middlesex County has been fined $7,235 by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for violations of the Virginia Waste Management Act involving the closed county landfill at Stormont.
The county hired the consultant firm Resource International Ltd. (RI) of Ashland to monitor and handle DEQ requirements at the old landfill site and according to RI officials the firm will pay the total cost of the fine.
The fine was going to be $12,000 but through negotiations that cleared up several DEQ concerns it was reduced by 40%, said Michael Fiore of RI at the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) meeting on Tuesday, June 6.
The DEQ violations involve non-compliance in filing reports in a timely manner associated with violations of methane gas levels at monitoring probes on the property. Most of the RI reports to DEQ were properly filed in writing but some did not comply with the code section that requires that DEQ be notified by phone within 24 hours of the violation.
The report also speaks to cases where the county did not take proper action when methane gas levels exceeded DEQ safety levels.
“Based on the results of the (DEQ) record review conducted on June 22, 2022, the department concludes that Middlesex violated” three environment code sections.
However, on March 23, 2023 the review statement reads that “Middlesex has submitted documentation that verifies that violations described in the report have been corrected.”
