FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2016

Contact: Bill Hayden
(804) 698-4447
william.hayden@deq.virginia.gov

RICHMOND, VA. -- The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has entered into an emergency order by consent with Atlantic Waste Disposal Inc. for the Atlantic Waste Disposal landfill in Waverly. This order is for ongoing noncompliance with the Virginia Waste Management Act.

The order addresses conditions at the Atlantic Waste Disposal landfill resulting from excess heat within the landfill waste mass. This has led to concerns with odor, slope stability, and increased leachate production. Leachate is water contaminated by landfill waste. It was observed flowing outside the limits of the lined disposal area about 500 to 600 feet to adjacent forested wetlands, impacting approximately 3.4 acres.

The order requires completion of a schedule of compliance and adherence to a landfill management plan. Atlantic is required to: 1) remove leachate and contaminated stormwater from unlined areas; 2) reduce intake of waste to no more than 35,000 tons of waste per week; 3) remove a minimum of 2.5 million gallons of leachate per week, increasing to 3.5 million gallons after 60 days; 4) prevent migration of leachate seeps outside the lined disposal area; 5) backfill sinkholes occurring on the surface of the waste mass; 6) notify DEQ of any regulatory noncompliance within 24 hours of discovery; 7) submit an updated cost estimate for the facility’s financial assurance mechanism; and 8) submit weekly monitoring data for internal temperature of the landfill, intake of waste material and leachate removal.

Focused on interim, immediate corrective action, the order does not address any potential enforcement action from the agency. DEQ continues to monitor the landfill to ensure compliance with the Waste Management Act, as well as with the terms of the order.

The order is available on the DEQ website at www.deq.virginia.gov.