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Eventually, Cumberland supervisors set a date for the Green Ridge public hearing during their meeting this week. But that was after first accidentally voting to set the hearing more than three months in the future and then raising questions as to why a special session was needed at all. 

If you’re just joining us, this is in reference to the proposed Green Ridge landfill. The previous conditional use permit for the project expired in June. This is for a new one to replace it, which would allow 104 acres out of the 1,177 acre site to be available for active dumping. 

Originally, a public hearing on the project was set for June. However, Cumberland officials postponed it, saying that negotiations were still ongoing as far as what the conditional use permit and host agreement would include. Even this week, before their Tuesday, July 8 meeting, supervisors met in closed session to discuss contract negotiations. But when it comes to any proposed or agreed upon changes in either document, we don’t know what that looks like. Those have not been made public yet. In public comment Tuesday night, Cumberland residents asked when they will have access to the final version of the conditional use permit. Their questions were not answered by county officials, who for the most part remained silent during this part of the meeting, aside from when it was time to vote. 

And yet, even though any proposed changes to the deal haven’t been made public, a majority of Cumberland supervisors want to hold a public hearing on the conditional use permit Monday, July 28. 

Why that date for Green Ridge hearing? 

It was that date which raised the first questions Tuesday night. Supervisor Bryan Hamlet asked the rest of the board why a special meeting was needed. 

“I don’t know why a public hearing on this CUP was ok for a regular board meeting in June but it’s not ok in August or in July,” Hamlet said. “I don’t understand why it has to be a special called meeting as opposed to occurring at a regular board meeting.” 

Hamlet, who is unable to attend the July 28 hearing, said he previously offered several alternative dates. Tuesday night, he offered another, making a motion to hold the hearing Aug. 5 instead of July 28. That motion died with no other supervisor in support. 

“I work a career, I have a family, I like to take vacation,” Hamlet said. “I schedule my vacations, I schedule my life around our board meetings because that’s a responsibility I have. I don’t understand why we have to schedule a special hearing on a date that’s not a regular board meeting date, knowing that the one that’s outspoken about this project is not going to be here. It almost seems like you’re trying to shut me up.” 

The remainder of the board didn’t respond to Hamlet’s comments. Instead, they tried to make a motion to move forward with a July 28 hearing. Instead, they accidentally said Oct. 28, voting to approve it before realizing the mistake. The board majority tried to move forward with the meeting, before being reminded that they would have to first vote to reconsider, then vote again if they wanted to hold the meeting this month instead of in October. 

Eventually, a board majority, with Hamlet in opposition, voted to set a public hearing for the Green Ridge landfill conditional use permit for July 28. 

Why is it important to hold a hearing now? 

So why the rush to hold a hearing this month? Part of the answer might involve the state. 

When it comes to the proposed 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.

That state review for Part B is currently scheduled to begin on Aug. 15 and DEQ officials say it is expected to finish no later than December 13. But to be deemed complete, as we reported back in June, state officials say an active conditional use permit is needed. Now even if for some reason a decision isn’t reached on July 28, DEQ officials say they’ll move forward with the Part B review. But an active permit is needed before the review can be completed, as DEQ officials will go over what was and wasn’t allowed by the county and make sure it matches state requirements. 

What’s in it for Cumberland? 

Now here’s the current public numbers, in terms of what Cumberland would get from the proposed landfill. This does not include any changes made in negotiations over the last two months. 

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.