Loudoun County community concerned about makeshift landfill in Hamilton
HAMILTON, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A Northern Virginia community is up in arms over what they describe as a landfill they say has no oversight and could be a risk to residents' water.
The dumping ground in Hamilton has who knows what in it and residents who rely on well water in this area say it's a risk. FOX 5 was told the county does not monitor it and likely had no idea when they approved a "personal recreational field" permit four years ago this would be the outcome.
Henry Harris lives next door to the Gable Farm where the waste sits. He says he was never given a heads up about what he describes as a landfill -- he's just seen construction trucks come and go and dump waste.
Initially what was a concern about an eyesore in the center of this Hamilton neighborhood has become a health concern. FOX 5 has been told at least 100 homes surround what's technically a personal recreational field.
Residents are concerned about what's in the dump that reportedly covers more than 18 acres and stands more than 30-feet high.
"So, right now, this is now 500,000 cubic yards of waste. This could appear adjacent to anybody in Western Loudoun County and it's done without notice so that we had no idea that this was going to happen and we had no idea what was happening at the time it occurred. We had to figure all that out. That's wrong. These massive deposits of waste should not be allowed in Western Loudoun," Harris told FOX 5.
Loudoun County released the following statement Thursday on the makeshift landfill:
"The county has responded to and investigated these concerns with the property and are currently waiting for the property owner to take action on the current Notice of Violation (NOV) associated with nonconformance with the approved site plan."
The county goes on to say the site owner has been notified to remove the excess fill material from the property, to bring the elevation into compliance and apply for and obtain approval for the stockpiling of dirt. The county says if the owner fails to comply, legal action is next.