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Why has Green Ridge filed an application with the state before the process is even finished in Cumberland County? That’s been one question raised over the last few months by local residents, as they don’t understand why the project can move forward on the state level at the same time as it continues on the local side. Meanwhile, state officials say it’s legal and fairly common. 

Let’s go over the part causing confusion here. When it comes to the proposed Green Ridge landfill, Cumberland County isn’t the only group that needs to give approval, if it is to be built. The project would also have to go through an approval process with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Part A in that application process was completed last year.

Part B is a bit more complex on the state level. That’s where they go over the design with state officials, along with the liner system, stormwater management and even a post closure plan for down the road. Everything has to match state laws and state requirements. That includes having an active conditional use permit. So why can Green Ridge file and answer questions about their Part B application before the local permit is even approved? The answer, state officials say, is because the application can be amended at any point. 

How does this work for Green Ridge? 

“If the local government certification (i.e. the CUP) that was approved under the Part A application is not supplied, has expired, or will expire during the Part B application review process, the application will be deemed incomplete until proper and valid documentation is submitted,” said Irina Calos. She works as a communications manager for DEQ. 

This would apply to Green Ridge, as the current conditional use permit for the project, adopted in 2018, is set to expire this month. So basically Green Ridge can file the application and it can go through the review process on the state level, but when or if the permit expires, everything basically is paused. 

“It is DEQ’s understanding that the county board of supervisors (BoS) plans to consider a new CUP at their June meeting,” Calos said. “If the BoS approves a new CUP and the rest of the Part B application documentation is complete, DEQ would move forward with the Part B application technical review.”   

So if the Green Ridge permit is approved by Cumberland, then that would be added to the application and things would start back up. No approval by the board of supervisors means the state process stays shut down.  

And let’s say the local request for a new conditional use permit gets approved. That conditional use permit would have a series of rules and regulations that have to be followed. Those rules would possibly be different than the ones already in place, so the Part B application would have to be changed to meet those requirements before moving forward with the state. 

“The Part B application must accurately reflect the proposed design and operating standards of the facility, which must conform to federal, state and local regulations,” Calos said. “Since the CUP is required to be submitted with the Part B application package, it will be reviewed in conjunction with the application. If there are any design or operational conditions imposed by the CUP that are not reflected in the Part B application, DEQ may request that the facility revise the application.”

In other words, Green Ridge can file the Part B application with the state, complete with the old permit, but until Cumberland makes a decision, nothing really moves forward. 

What is this permit for?

So, to be clear, Green Ridge doesn’t have approval yet for their “initial phase”. That’s what all of this is for, to either approve or reject it. 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 the firm Woods Rogers and representing Green Ridge, 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, District 1 Supervisor Bryan Hamlet asked back in the March 3 joint session. At full build-out, he was told, 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. 

What’s next with Green Ridge?

Now we head to a public hearing and possible vote by the Cumberland board of supervisors on Tuesday, June 10. That’ll take place at 7 p.m. in the cafetorium of the Cumberland High/Middle School complex.