It has been 10 months since County Waste first announced its plans to develop a 1,200-acre mega-landfill in Cumberland County.

The landfill, to be known as the Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility will be in eastern Cumberland County. Residents of the county will be negatively affected by this large industrial facility which will import up to 70 million pounds of trash each week from a service area encompassing 21 states.

Cumberland County officials and representatives from Green Ridge have concluded that the most desirable site for this large industrial complex is in the Historically African-American community of Pine Grove. Pine Grove is home to a Rosenwald School, which was built in 1917, so that the African-American children of Pine Grove could have access to a quality education. The Pine Grove School had been the center of the Pine Grove community for decades. Many former students continue to call Pine Grove home.

Pine Grove has been under siege ever since County Waste unveiled its plans to turn the community into a huge trash receptacle for states as far away as New England, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Georgia. In August 2018, residents of Pine Grove were introduced to Green Ridge’s Property Value Assurance Program (PVAP) which is intended to help offset any possible decline in property values for homeowners who own property within a half mile of the disposal area of the landfill. The corporation proposes to “reimburse the participant for any shortfall up to a maximum of 15 percent of the Adjusted Property Value.” Green Ridge is also proposing to buy “nearby” or adjoining properties once construction on the landfill is set to begin. In both cases, Adjusted Property Values are determined by a Green Ridge approved appraiser using limited comparable data. According to the eight- page proposal, both programs do not go into effect until Green Ridge has all necessary permits in hand and is given the green light to bring in the earthmovers, bulldozers, dump trucks, construction materials and other heavy machinery.

Green Ridge’s PVAP contains many legal stipulations that are too detailed and cumbersome to address in this limited space. One stipulation that is important to note, however, is the required “gag order” that Green Ridge imposes on any property owner who seeks some sense of economic security and enrolls in the PVAP. In order to obtain some protection against the inevitable decline in property value, homeowners are required to sign the Property Value Assurance Agreement whereby they agree not to “oppose in any way the permitting, development, construction or operation of the Landfill …” This requirement is a blatant attempt to silence opposition, divide residents and destroy a community that has existed since antebellum times. Sign on the dotted line, stay quiet, watch your community disappear, and let the corporation make millions at your expense.

Cumberland County officials and representatives from Green Ridge refer to the mega-landfill as an economic development project. Calling it a community destruction project would be more honest and more accurate. Some community members, fearful for their own economic security, have reluctantly signed the Property Value Assurance Program and required “gag order.” Green Ridge has bought the silence of these individuals who, once active opponents of the landfill, can no long attend meetings, protest, or speak out against the landfill. We miss them and their determined advocacy. Twelve hundred acres filled with billions of pounds of trash will destroy the Pine Grove community, invite more heavy industry, discourage smart development, and dissuade homebuyers from giving any thought to living in Cumberland County. Staying silent is not an option.

KEVIN HALLIGAN is a resident of Powhatan and concerned citizen. He can be reached via email at wkhalligan@gmail.com.