Russell County residents raise concern over proposed landfill: Transparency and environmental impact in question - WCYB

Russell County residents raise concern over proposed landfill: Transparency and environmental impact in question | WCYB

RUSSELL COUNTY, Va. (WCYB) — Cleveland is a small town in Russell County, with its residents now worried about a privately owned landfill proposed for the area.

They tell News 5 it would be located at the old Moss III mining site.
"They call this the Heart of Appalachia, but they are going to turn it into a dump," said Dennis Perry, a concerned Cleveland resident. "It's what they are trying to do, and it's despicable."

Some of those residents saying a big issue -- what they say is a lack of communication.
"I think one of our major concerns is transparency," said Jennifer Chumbley, a Cleveland resident. "It's because of the way we found out about it. We have had no guidance or offered any perspective from the local government, and when I say local government, I mean Board of Supervisors, county government, I guess I should say, because the Town of Cleveland has not been at the table in this."

With fears growing about what this proposal could mean for the community and the environment.
"It's an issue that we've dealt with before, we've been through this before with coal mining," said Chumbley. "It provided our way of life here, this was a booming town once, and now we have been left with nothing, and we don't want that again." "The air circles around Cleveland, it comes back every which way," added Gary Newberry, a concerned resident from Cleveland. "Now, if they put the landfill dump in, we are going to be breathing that air because it comes right around Cleveland, the mountains hold it in here on us."

News 5 asked: What message do you have for the Board of Supervisors? I know you mentioned that transparency is a big issue in this -- just what would you want to say to them?
"The major message I would have is that you need to involve the community, especially when you are dealing with a business that is going to affect their daily lives," answered Chumbley.

The Russell County Administrator telling News 5 via email:
"The Board has taken no position on the potential for a solid waste landfill in Russell County. The top priority for the Board is to assure that any project protects the public and the environment to the highest degree and with certainty. For that reason, the Board has retained a consultant and special counsel to help evaluate all of the possible issues before any decision is made."

These citizens saying it's important to make their concerns heard.
"We are concerned about the health and wellbeing of our community, about our county," said Chumbley. "We are concerned about our water quality, we are concerned about the Clinch River Watershed. This is our way of life in these mountains and we do not want our rural mountainous area trashed by urban and city trash. We do not want to become the next Bristol 2.0."

These citizens are hosting a town hall style meeting on Monday, November 6 at the Russell County Conference Center in Lebanon. That meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m., and provide information related to the landfill proposal.