Amherst County officials are working with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to open the back side of the countyâs landfill in Madison Heights, a measure that will expand the landâs capacity for as long as two years.
County Administrator Dean Rodgers said during the Amherst County Board of Supervisorsâ Feb. 16 meeting the move gives the county more flexibility in preparing for a transition to a new transfer center on the landfillâs site on Kentmoor Farm Road in Madison Heights.
The transfer station, a facility in which solid waste will be processed and disposed of through trucks coming in and out, is targeted for completion in November but Rodgers feels the time frame is tight and could be delayed.
Cumberland County is getting three new parks
Scripps Media
Posted at 12:46 PM, Feb 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-24 12:46:53-05
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Va. There will soon be three new outdoor parks for the citizens of Cumberland County to enjoy.
The three parks will be located in different parts of the county, according to a press release from Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility.
One will be located in the northern end, one in the southern end and one in the central part of the county which will feature athletic fields.
Each park may include things like a playground, walking trails and exercise stations, the press release said.
Why snow removal crews are moving away from rock salt
Road crews have been forced to pre-treat and de-ice Central Virginiaâs roads in recent weeks. However, environmentalists are urging localities to take a closer look at what theyâre putting on the roadways. Rock salt is the most abundant and cheapest way to clear the roads, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Foresters like John Jastrzembski have studied the environmental impacts that sodium chloride has on Mother Nature. âThereâs no doubt itâs a necessary thing, but there are environmental consequences of using salts,â he explained. âThere are always traces of the salt deposits whether they leach into the waterway or groundwater or move downriver to the Chesapeake Bay.â
By PATRICK WILSON
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Senators on Thursday rejected legislation that would have stopped a mega-landfill from opening in poor and rural Cumberland County.
The issue illustrated the divide between protecting the environment and historic communities while allowing economic growth in Cumberland, which has about 10,000 people, little business and barely enough revenue for the county government to operate efficiently.
Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility wants to build the landfill near the western border of Powhatan County, and many opponents live there. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, sponsored three bills this year that would set a moratorium on any new mega-landfill.
The planned restoration of a stretch of Taylor Run drew widespread community concern at a virtual project update on Jan. 28, as environmentalists and residents questioned how effective and harmful the project will be.
City staff’s plan is to implement a natural channel design in a 1,900-foot section of Taylor Run from a sewer outfall near Chinquapin Recreation Center to First Baptist Church on King Street. The city’s stated goal with the project is to stabilize the degraded channel and exposed, at-risk sewer infrastructure, preserve the local ecology and improve water quality by slowing the downstream flow of phosphorous, nitrogen and sediment caused by erosion.