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The members of the Cumberland County Landfill Alert group want to stop the process now, before the proposed Green Ridge project makes it to a hearing for a conditional use permit. In an attempt to shut things down, the group has sued Cumberland County, asking a circuit court judge to issue an injunction.

“Plaintiff seeks declaratory relief together with an injunction and a writ of mandamus issued against Defendants to require Defendants to comply with their statutory duties to rescind the conditional use permit granted to Green Ridge and revoke the Amended Host Agreement between the Board of Supervisors and Green Ridge. Thereby, canceling the proposed mega-landfill project in its entirety,” the lawsuit states.

That last part pretty much sums it up. The CCLA group believes they have standing in this case to legally challenge the county and put a stop to the Host Agreement between Cumberland and Green Ridge. Over the last month, filings have gone back and forth, with Cumberland arguing that any legal challenge to the host agreement should have happened when the original was signed in 2018.

Representing Cumberland County, Blair O’Brien and Andrew Mullen from the Richmond-based firm Harman, Claytor, Corrigan and Wellman basically asked why now? In their Oct. 24 filing, O’Brien and Mullen pointed to the Virginia Code. Specifically, Section 15.2-2285 of the Code says “Every action contesting a decision of the local governing body adopting or failing to adopt a proposed zoning ordinance or amendment thereto or granting or failing to grant a special exception shall be filed within thirty days of the decision with the circuit court having jurisdiction of the land affected by the decision.”

The two lawyers pointed out the decision in this case happened back in 2018. To follow state law, they argued, a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Host Agreement needed to happen within 30 days of that original decision, not six years later. The same goes for the amended agreement, which was voted on in 2019.

“To the extent the Board’s execution of the amended host agreement on July 12, 2019 was a legislative act subject to challenge under Virginia Code, challenge had to be filed against the Board no later than Monday, Aug. 12, 2019,” the county’s attorneys argued.

ARGUMENTS OVER

That debate will have to be settled by a special judge. Earlier this month, Chief Judge Donald Blessing of the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court ruled that it was improper, in his opinion, for any local judges of the Tenth Circuit to hear this case. As a result, he filed a request to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, to name a special judge to oversee the case.

As for the Host Agreement, they’re referring to two votes taken almost a year apart. In August 2018, the Cumberland board of supervisors voted 3-2 to adopt a community host agreement with Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal. Of the members at that time, then-Chairman Kevin Ingle and District Two Supervisor Lloyd Banks voted in opposition to the motion and District One Supervisor William “Bill” Osl, District Four Supervisor David Meinhard and District Five Supervisor Parker Wheeler voted in favor.

The board then voted again, on July 12, 2019, to amend that agreement and insert one key change. In Sect. 3.5(b) in the amended agreement, it says the county has to cooperate with Green Ridge’s efforts to obtain permits, provide data pertaining to the landfill as requested and send them through the regular process for approval or rejection. Basically, if attempts are made to reject the project without allowing the company to go through the regular application process, it violates the agreement the previous Cumberland supervisors willingly signed. And in turn, opens the county up to a lawsuit.

This has been why Cumberland hasn’t simply tossed out the Green Ridge proposed landfill, saying it’s not wanted. The language in that 2019 amended agreement says “the County will take no action intended to frustrate or prevent Green Ridge from receiving and maintaining a permit, and other local permits and approvals that are consistent with the applicable ordinances and zoning, including any conditional use permits,” the document says. As to what is considered ‘action to frustrate’, that can be open to interpretation. For example, back in 2020, then-Supervisor Ron Tavernier was given a cease and desist letter for simply the way he spoke about the project at meetings. Tavernier in those meetings opposed the landfill, calling for it to be derailed and the permit denied.

Green Ridge’s legal counsel at Woods Rogers took offense to that, stating that “Tavernier’s statements and actions are outrageous and not consistent with paragraph 3.5(b) of the host agreement,” in that July 9, 2020 cease and desist letter.

The letter goes on to say “we all should want to avoid the untold damages that would ensue if Green Ridge’s project failed because the County did not fulfill its obligations under paragraph 3.5(b) of the host agreement.”

The implication right there being pretty clear that legal action could follow if Green Ridge’s project failed due to the county not fulfilling the requirements of the host agreement. That’s why both Cumberland supervisors won’t comment on the landfill and why the county board overall can’t just say ‘thanks, but we’re not interested’.

They could have, back in 2018. But since the host agreement was voted on and signed, this current board is legally bound to follow what their predecessors agreed to.

Project moves through Cumberland County process

So what happens to Green Ridge in the meantime, while this is being fought over in court? It still moves forward.

In order for the proposed Cumberland landfill to be either rejected or approved, first it has to go through the full conditional use process. Green Ridge Virginia, part of GFL (Green for Life) Environmental, has to apply for a permit with Cumberland, requesting permission to move forward with the landfill. The company has taken the first step in that process, as county staff acknowledged in September that the permit has been filed. It was just not complete as of the last county board meeting.

There is also no estimated timeframe for when it would be complete, but when that happens, unless the injunction is granted by the Circuit Court, Green Ridge will go before the planning commission, which will hear the request and hold a public hearing. After that, the planning commission decides if they recommend it or not to supervisors. Then it would go to supervisors, where another public hearing would be held. Afterward, the board could make a decision.