Landfill suffers tough year, financial loss

After several years of profits over $1M, Battle Creek lost as much in FY24

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Aug. 5 — The Battle Creek Landfill sat at the center of controversy in Page County for much of its first decade. County officials signed an initial contract in the late ’90s that trapped taxpayers in a never-ending deficit, until a couple of years later when they increased the daily tonnage [to increase revenue] that brought in a never-ending line of trash trucks from places like New York, New Jersey, Delaware and D.C. At one point in the early 2000s, Page County was cited as the second-highest importer of out-of-state trash in Virginia.

After several years of legal battles, numerous violations cited the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), trash truck crashes on each mountain, trash spilled into the national park and the national forest, conspiracy theories of organized crime being involved, at least one suspicious death of a DEQ official, millions lost in county revenue, and hundreds of thousands of dollars more poured into multiple consultants and additional legal help… the board of supervisors finally decided to take over control of the landfill and stop suffering under the thumb of two different operators that truly took the county on a wild ride. The settlement to dissolve the operator’s contract would cost the county millions more, and supervisors received an earful from residents on a regular basis at public meetings for the better part of six years or more.

Over the last decade or so, things turned around at the county landfill and the “scar on the mountain” was healing due to special attention being given to each aspect of its operations. In recent years, compaction rates have improved, making the available air space last longer; the recycling program grew during a time when the market was more favorable; new contracts for waste streams outside of the county were limited, but necessary to grow revenue; and financially speaking, the Battle Creek Landfill went from being a money pit to a strong revenue producer. A portion of the reason why Page County has built up nearly $25 million in reserves in recent years is due to landfill profits.

However, at last week’s board of supervisor’s meeting, landfill manager Billy Hall reported that the site had suffered one of its worst years since those early dark days on the east ridge of the Massanutten mountain.

“We went back some this year,” District 1 supervisor Keith Guzy said after hearing the report.

Hall’s written report stated that Battle Creek Landfill finished the last fiscal year on June 30 nearly $1.4 million below projected revenues for FY24. Revenues were projected at nearly $4 million, but instead the final tally was just over $2.5 million. During his oral presentation to the board on Aug. 5, Hall stated that actual losses at the landfill were ($843,805).

In recent years, landfill profits have routinely exceeded $1 million, with its best year generating more than $3 million in additional revenue for the county’s coffers. However, permitting issues with Cell 11, major equipment breakdowns, the redesigning of roads on the site, additional leachate build up, and the correction of stormwater drainage issues all lead to a big shortfall in FY24.

“We had to cut incoming waste to conserve air space,” Hall said of the holdup with Cell 11 permitting by the state. “We utilized all open areas [cells 1-10] in the landfill to remain open.”

The first load of waste went into Cell 11 on Oct. 16, 2023, according to Hall’s report — well behind its anticipated opening. The delays allowed additional liquid runoff (leachate) to build up in the future cell, resulting in the county spending an additional $333,000, according to Hall, in additional transportation and disposal cost to remove and dispose of the leachate, as required by DEQ regulations.

“With the addition of Cell 11 and the extended time it took to get the permits in place we produced massive amounts of leachate,” Hall’s report states. “This caused major overtime and the use of outside haulers. Once the permits were in place, we were able to get the fluff layer in and control storm water from entering the leachate system.”

Incoming waste (and therefore incoming revenue) was also slowed down due to the stormwater drainage updates, which Hall’s report said were “approximately 17 years out of date.”

“This construction project caused us to have to redesign the landfill’s roadways. While the construction was under way, the incoming waste had to slow because the state permitted stormwater ditches fell in the middle of existing road ways,” the report stated.

Another big obstacle for landfill operations over the past year has been expensive equipment failures:

• 725 Dump truck — brake issues, bearing failure, cooling system issues — “These problems caused issues hauling dirt for cover. Inadequate cover would result in DEQ violations.”
• 963 Track loader — fuel issues, worn undercarriage, boost issues — “This piece of equipment is used for moving/covering waste and building berms. Without it, we can’t properly build exterior sloops. That leads to lost airspace.”
• 329 Excavator — complete engine failure — “primary use is loading dirt for cover.”
• D6T Dozer — transmission failure — “This piece of equipment is used for moving/covering waste.”
• Aljon ADJ 500 Compactor — DEF system, electrical issues, numerous engine issues — “Without a compactor, we can’t compact the trash. This leads to unsafe slopes and lost air space.”

“Over the past year we have had serious equipment failures. These issues caused the cut back of inbound waste. Without the proper waste handling equipment, we couldn’t safely move large volumes of waste. Most waste handling equipment cannot be rented on short notice,” Hall’s report stated.

With many of these unavoidable obstacles behind them, Hall is estimating that landfill revenues will increase by 12.2 percent in the current fiscal year. He expects the incoming waste stream to get back to its former average of 600 tons per day, rather than the “400 to 420” tons per day averaged during FY24.

The county is also hoping that the recycling market will rebound. In FY23, Battle Creek generated about $120,000 in revenue from recycled materials. That figure dropped to about $66,000 last year.

“That market’s just not there anymore,” Hall told supervisors, “and now we are having to pay to dispose of [some] recycling.”

As they develop Cell 12, Hall said tarps will be used to decrease leachate buildup. Stormwater issues and road designs should soon be resolved for years to come. Waste streams should return to normal, and hopefully revenue streams will as well.

Even a 12.2-percent projected increase in revenues during FY25 won’t return Battle Creek to its previous profitable output, but it will be a big step in the right direction to correct the ills of FY24.

In addition to righting the financial portion of the operation, supervisors also asked Hall to increase efforts to grow grass on the sloping hills of cells and manage trash being blown along the sides of Route 340 and beyond. Hall said the landfill has been employing contractors to bring in top soil and hydro-seed the site, but lingering drought conditions stymied efforts to grow grass this summer.

For more information on the Battle Creek Landfill, CLICK HERE.

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