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To The Editor:

It has been 26 months since Cumberland residents learned the local Board of Supervisors had been making plans with Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility to bring a 1,200-acre mega-landfill to our small rural county.

More than two years later, the fight continues to stop the mega-landfill from invading Virginia and endangering its citizens. Numerous reasons have been cited opposing the mega-landfill, such as ground water contamination, pollution, displacing wildlife, decreasing property values, endangering wetlands, contamination to streams and rivers, and traffic concerns.

Currently this project is still in the approval process with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Green Ridge filed their Notice of Intent (NOI) with DEQ in January of 2020. In March, DEQ sent a letter to Green Ridge stating that their application had been found to be “administratively incomplete” and requested additional information. Upon receiving a response from Green Ridge, DEQ has sent another request for further explanation and clarification earlier this month.

Granted we have all been bombarded with bad and stressful news in 2020. Human trafficking, natural disasters, and of course, the coronavirus. Public schools, government offices, state parks, amusement parks, beaches, tourist attractions, all of which have either been shut down or closed to the public. People cannot even attend church or visit their loved ones in the hospital or nursing homes, due to the mandates of social distancing.

Our country’s resources are being stressed to the limit. We are living in unprecedented times with protests, rioters, businesses going bankrupt, and an attack on our law enforcement agencies and our Constitution. However, even during these times we cannot forget about local issues that will adversely affect our lives and the lives of future generations.

Virginia does not need a mega-landfill, and Virginia should not be expected to accept trash from other states. I do not know about you, but I would not be comfortable with thousands of tons of trash coming into Cumberland from New York and 20 other states during a pandemic or any other time.

Barbara Speas

Cumberland