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During a town hall meeting in August 2024, a question was brought up about the proposed Green Ridge landfill in Cumberland County. Muriel Branch, the president of the AMMD Pine Grove Project, pointed out that at the time, Green Ridge officials had said they wouldn’t expand, but the landfill is labeled as the “initial phase”. In January, at the first of two work sessions with the county planning commission, that was brought up again, with the company acknowledging that they do have plans to expand, if allowed. On Monday, Feb. 10, in the second work session, we got a much more detailed picture about what that expansion would look like. 

So, to be clear, Green Ridge doesn’t have approval yet for their “initial phase”. That’s what the current set of workshops and planned public hearings is for. That initial phase would only have 104 acres out of the 1,177 acre site available for active dumping. That’s down from 650 acres in the original plan. 

But that doesn’t mean it would permanently be that size. Right now, Green Ridge doesn’t have the permits needed to build on or disturb wetlands, creeks and streams. Will Shewmake, an attorney with Woods Rogers, said if the company does get those permits, things would expand. 

That expansion would mean a jump from 104 acres to 350 total acres available for garbage disposal. It would also mean a significant increase in the size of the garbage mounds. The current application being considered by Cumberland allows trash to pile up to 140 feet above ground level. If Green Ridge gets to expand, they could go up to 225 feet above ground level. The biggest increase would be in the amount of trash brought in. The current application limits that to 1,500 tons of garbage a day. The expansion would allow them to haul in 3,500 tons per day. It would also increase the number of nearby homes impacted. With this “initial phase”, there are 37 houses within a half mile of the disposal area. With expansion, that would climb to 58 homes. 

Expansion not guaranteed  for Green Ridge landfill

But none of that is guaranteed. Even if Green Ridge is approved for the “initial phase” of the landfill, they would have to get state and federal permits before any expansion. As Shewmake acknowledged on Monday, any expansion plan would also mean going through the permitting process again with Cumberland County, going before the planning commission and the board of supervisors. It’s worth pointing out that Green Ridge hasn’t actually made it yet before either of those groups for an actual vote yet. Even Monday’s meeting was just the latest in a series, with Green Ridge officials answering questions from the planning commission. 

There were no public comments on Monday, as this was set aside just for Green Ridge officials to present and for planning commission members to ask questions. Residents will have a chance to comment during the upcoming public hearing, commission members assured those in the room. That’s scheduled for Monday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m., during the commission’s regular meeting. 

What’s in it for Cumberland? 

Another question that has been raised repeatedly is what benefit Cumberland County gets from the property. Green Ridge went through the financials on Monday, explaining the different payments the county will receive. 

Host fees for the proposal would be a minimum of $640,000 annually, with another $50,000 annually from the machinery, equipment and tools tax. A payment of $25,000 each would be made each year to the county’s Environmental Science Education Program Fund and Recreational Programs Fund. Green Ridge also claimed that they’re “paying” in another way, by allegedly saving Cumberland money through free garbage disposal for all county government facilities. They claim that will save $750,000 each year. 

The company also laid out what they claim are other ways they’re saving Cumberland residents money. That includes residents using the landfill for free waste disposal, paying for the cost of a county employee, with a $100,000 salary, to monitor the operation and the fact Cumberland would get 25 acres of land to use, once the landfill is decommissioned decades in the future. 

Green Ridge officials also laid out ways they say they’re being a “good neighbor”. That includes paying $4,271 to buy band uniforms for Cumberland County Public Schools, giving the school district another $60,000 for a scholarship fund, $250,000 to the county to develop new parks, $100,000 to the county to help with public safety, $500,000 to reimburse the county for costs related to rezoning and $500,000 to reimburse Cumberland for costs related to the rezoning process. 

Working on the Part B permit 

In addition to asking Cumberland for a conditional use permit, Green Ridge is going through the Part B process of its state approval process as well. That’s where they go over the design with state officials, along with the liner system, stormwater management, groundwater monitoring, landfill gas management and a post closure plan for down the road. Also, what would all those trucks do to Pinegrove Road? The Virginia Department of Transportation will have to sign off on that as well. 

As for traffic at the Green Ridge landfill, that was also a point raised during Monday’s meeting. The agreement would ban “unreasonable” traffic, restricting to one truck every 10 minutes, for a maximum of 75 trucks per day. But what’s considered unreasonable? There’s no specific definition in the application and it’s unclear who would get to define that. 

What’s next for Green Ridge landfill? 

Now that planning commission members have asked their questions, it’s time for the residents to weigh in. That’ll take place on Monday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m., during the planning commission’s regular meeting.