Answers don't add up about county landfill leak

Letter to the Editor:

Just this week my wife talked with County Administrator Dan Sleeper about the landfill leak in Dry Fork.

In his conversation, he held up his hand, and with his finger and thumb about 2 inches apart, said "That's all there was, about 2 inches" He stated in the paper less than a coffee cup.
The Department of Environmental Quality stated (in the Star-Tribune) "a small seep was found along the base of the Phase 1 cell (a 10-acre site) and called the seep a "wet spot."

There are all size wet spots to me. If it ran into a storm water system and the county sampled this wet spot in two different locations, Mr. Sleeper must have a heck of a coffee cup.

The paper states the seep or wet spot was observed entering the landfill's storm water system. How can it enter if it is a wet spot?

The Star-Tribune stated the county sampled the seep in two locations in March and April and it was contaminated with metals (I wonder what kind?) and organic matter and represented a leachate outbreak. These results of these tests should be made public.


Dewberry stated in the Star-Tribune the leachate pump 80 feet below the garbage wasn't working properly.

It seems to me that DEQ's seep at the base of Phase 1 cell means the contamination would have to work its way through a thick holding cell wall.

I just don't understand how Mr. Sleepers "2 inches" in a coffee cup of contamination could do all this.

Again the Star-Tribune states Mr. Hawker (assistant administrator) as saying they could not determine there was any release, and then turns around and said the seep was about 1,600 feet from the nearest wetlands and 2,500 feet from the Banister River.

The county installed a new pump with a flow meter. This is great, but if there is no buildup of leachate, the flow meter won't tell them anything and if the pump stops working again the flow meter won't show anything. It looks like to me they are back at square one.

My point is: all these errors could happen with uranium mining cells.

Now county, do your job and protect your citizens.

Our county can stop the uranium mining with our ordinances already in place, but if they wait until after this biased study, they can't.

The citizens of Pittsylvania County should have been notified. Is your well downstream? Have they done any water tests to see if the leachate reached your wells?

The "mistake" happened in March 2008 and almost a year later we are finding out about it. Why?

Our county spent a total of $9,300. That included a $1,300 civil penalty (fine) of our tax dollars.

DEQ sampled the seep in two locations in March and April and determined it was contaminated. DEQ issued a notice of violation in July.

Call your county supervisors and tell them you want answers!

Phillip Lovelace

Gretna