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The vote wasn’t unanimous on Monday, but that’s because two of the planning commission members wanted to see a better date. The Cumberland Planning Commission did vote to set the public hearing for Green Ridge on April 21. But as commission member Stephen Donahue pointed out, that wasn’t exactly the best option. 

“It’s the Monday after Easter,” he said, reminding others in the room that some people could be traveling back from visiting family and friends over the holiday. “It’s not a good time to have it.” 

Staff members said that was the day and time of the month when the planning commission would typically meet, so that’s why Easter Monday was chosen. 

Wanting a better option, Donahue voted against holding the hearing on April 21. So did Kevin Meadows. They were the only ones, however, as the commission majority approved the hearing date. 

The planning commission also raised some concerns and questions from the audience Monday, as they went into closed session at the end to discuss the Green Ridge conditional use permit request with the county attorney. Residents asked why an advisory board was getting legal counsel over a requested conditional use permit, one that won’t even go to a public hearing until next month. 

That hearing will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Cumberland Middle/High School Cafetorium, located at 16 School Road. 

To answer some questions we’ve been asked in recent weeks, yes, everyone who comes and signs up will be able to speak. There is not a maximum number of people who can talk. Also, this is not the final vote. That question has been brought up as well. This is just the public hearing, where residents can give their take on the requested permit for the landfill. After the hearing is over, the planning commission will then have the option of either taking a vote and making a recommendation to the board of supervisors or postponing that until next month, to think and consider what’s discussed during the hearing. 

A question about growth with Green Ridge

How big would the landfill be? We’ve been asked that one too. This current set of workshops and planned public hearings is requesting a conditional use permit for the “initial phase” of the project. 

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 in the Feb. 10 workshop 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. 

But what does that translate to? What would the maximum capacity of this landfill be? At the last workshop, Mike Lawless with TRC Engineering, said at full build-out, if everything is approved, it would be 30 million cubic yards. The tons in a cubic yard vary, depending on the density of the material, but the average is roughly 1.65 tons per cubic yard.

What’s in it for Cumberland?  

Another question that has been raised repeatedly is what benefit Cumberland County gets from the property. 

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 has 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 have 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. 

Green Ridge still working on other permits

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.