County Officials Swallow Reservations

By LAWRENCE J. SMITH
Daily News-Record

LURAY — Despite some reservations, the Page County Board of Supervisors signed an agreement with National Waste Services of Virginia Inc., the county’s current landfill operator, to find a new company to run Page’s Battle Creek Landfill.

The board, with stern words about NWS’ prior performance, voted 4-1 to begin negotiations with NWS to find an operator acceptable to the county, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and one of NWS’ investors.

The DEQ revoked the county’s permit to operate Battle Creek on March 10 and ordered that it cease operations. NWS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection soon after.

The agreement would help NWS relieve some of its debt to Capital Source LLC of Maryland, while shifting the responsibility of operating the landfill to another company, Page’s attorney on landfill matters, James Cornwell, said.

"Capital Source and NWS will submit to the county a list of possible third parties to buy NWS’ stock and take over operations at the Battle Creek Landfill," Cornwell said. "Next week, we will identify the third parties and then go back to the third parties and see who we like and don’t like."

The agreement, which is nonbinding for all parties, is needed to get the county’s trash properly disposed of again, said Board Chairman Gerald Cubbage. NWS has not been picking up trash around the county for more than two weeks and NWS’ bankruptcy, Cubbage said, has made finding a hauler for the county’s three recycling centers difficult.

"We’re trying to get rid of our waste and nobody wants to help us," Cubbage said. "I’m getting tired of being jerked around."

On April 24, Waste Management Inc. agreed to help NWS empty trash bins at trash collection sites in Luray, Stanley and Shenandoah. Because the landfill was closed, the county was having its trash hauled to a transfer station in Warren County.

On Monday, "Waste Management said they could no longer help us," said County Administrator E.E. "Buddy" Burge II. The fear of litigation, Burge said, forced Waste Management to back away from hauling the county’s waste, and it’s also keeping other haulers away.

"We’re trying to be proactive, but unfortunately the court system is not cooperating," Burge said.

The county has requested that a judge hearing NWS’ appeal of the permit revocation allow a third party to take over landfill operations, and Tuesday’s agreement may head off the judge’s decision.

NWS appealed the DEQ’s revocation of the landfill permit in Richmond Circuit Court. On April 6, Judge Theodore J. Markow issued an emergency injunction to reopen the landfill, pending NWS’ appeal. Markow has yet to rule on that appeal.

On March 10, DEQ’s Tidewater Regional Director, Frank Daniel, revoked the landfill’s permit, citing numerous violations of state law and the landfill permit.

Cubbage said that while the agreement is a step forward, it could still be several months before the landfill begins accepting trash again.

"I’d say it will be August or September before anybody can get it open again," Cubbage said.

Jamie Turner of Byrd Newspapers contributed to this report.
Contact Lawrence J. Smith at 574-6278 or jsmith@dnronline.com