Informational meeting on landfill turns contentious over costs, potential environmental risks

Yesterday at Potomac Shores Middle School in Dumfries, representatives from Dominion Energy held a meeting on their plans for a landfill in the Possum Point area. The purpose was to provide an update for burying coal ash from ash ponds into the landfill, primarily focusing on ash pond D. In a follow up from a previous meeting in January, many elected officials as well as the community came out to hear the presentation and ask questions.

Projects Director Spencer Adkins, who provided the different proposals for the landfill, held the presentation, including the expensive costs of removing the coal ash. Factors for the landfill included the length of the project, transportation, and resources needed to obtain the permits for the removal. Any contact water from pond D would go through a water treatment system near the other ponds, which Adkins stated would include input from the community. Also discussed was the truck route for the off-site landfill location and a rail spur next to the Possum Point power station. A double liner system will be installed beneath the landfill to address environmental concerns. Photos were provided of recent site visits to pond E by the Dominion Task Force.

Once Adkins completed the presentation, he took questions from the audience, voicing complaints on speeding trucks in the area, as well as how a landfill could be built on top of contaminated groundwater. Other concerns ranged from the impact of earthquakes and that a cut and fill analysis had not been conducted to address the costs of dirt transportation, despite not having any trucks on-site.

One of the comments referred to the potential impacts of a landfill being similar to what happened in Gordon Plaza in New Orleans, Louisiana, a predominantly Black neighborhood that experienced high levels of toxic lead poisoning after a landfill was installed in 1981.

It can view here an overview of the presentation.

As the meeting concluded, Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey addressed concerns about the local government’s role in solving the coal ash issue, even as it turned contentious. “I didn’t want this problem either. I inherited this problem,” said Bailey to the audience, “and it should’ve been taken care of before I got into the seat, but it wasn’t.” She discussed how she worked on solving the Montclair Pipe issue in the past. She mentioned transparency with the community and was willing to work with the Cherry Hill community.

Despite the pleas, one audience member was still not pleased as the plan. “Why does the county want to turn our community into a landfill?” he shouted.

Rozia Henson Jr., candidate for the 19th District House of Delegates, offered this statement to the PW Perspective: “It’s great when we have elected officials serving as bridge builders by bringing corporations to the community level to discuss important issues like Possum Point Coal Ash Pond.”