
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 16, 1990                   TAG: 9003162732
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DESPITE SETBACKS, LANDFILL NOT STOPPED

THE KIM-STAN landfill is like that bunny beating a drum in the TV ads: It just keeps going, and going . . . Events last week seemed to be tilting the way of the landfill's opponents. But this week, the Alleghany County operation showed that its battery still has plenty of juice.

Last week, the landfill was dealt several blows: It lost both its Ohio consultant and its Richmond legal firm; a federal court dismissed Kim-Stan's lawsuit to block state enforcement of pollution regulations; and the state resurrected a suit that could close the dump. But the developments likely won't affect the landfill's operation any time soon, if at all.

The consulting firm, Waste Placement Professionals, had been operating the landfill since last summer and was supposed to manage it for the rest of its life. The consultant's reason for leaving - fear that Kim-Stan would give the company a bad name - may make it difficult for the landfill to find another manager. But not to worry, from Kim-Stan's point of view: It apparently doesn't need outside help anymore. Tim Salopek, president of Waste Placement, said landfill workers had taken over many of his company's duties in recent weeks, and can run the operation themselves now.

Hunton & Williams' pullout, in the midst of the landfill's legal struggle, would seem inopportune. The replacement attorneys will have a lot of background to catch up on; for a decade, state and federal agencies have been warning Kim-Stan to stop discharging polluted water. But in the meantime, Kim-Stan no doubt will be granted a lengthy delay to prepare its defense to the state's suit to close the dump unless it stops polluting.

Salopek says there's room at the landfill for at least six months' worth of garbage. Will Kim-Stan want to push the discharge issue in court if its site is nearly full?

If Kim-Stan decided to bring its controversial operation to a voluntary close, it still could not erase the past. The dump has captured nationwide interest, and has sparked enthusiasm around the country for greater diligence in regulating landfills.

At home, the Kim-Stan dump pointed up the fact that the state's tools for dealing with polluting landfills were too weak. As a result, the recent session of the General Assembly passeed legislation enhancing state agencies' enforcement powers. It also stiffened punishment for violations; criminal penalties were added for landfill operators who break the rules.

And Reps. James Olin, D-Roanoke, and Frederick Boucher, D-Abingdon, are sponsoring legislation to give states the power to keep out garbage from other states. The Kim-Stan landfill didn't attract much attention until it changed ownership and began taking truckload after truckload of waste from out-of-state communities.

The neighbors who have sought to close the landfill have not labored in vain: They've been a source of inspiration to citizens in other states. The Kim-Stan foes have received calls and letters from citizens in, among other places, California, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Indiana and North Dakota, seeking advice on how to keep out landfills.

Here in Virginia, the outcome of the Kim-Stan case remains uncertain. But the controversy did expose gaping holes in Virginia's regulatory system, and that alone is worth something.

by CNB