Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 2, 1993 TAG: 9306020232
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Last month, however, Garman came across what appeared to be an entire cinder-block building that someone had demolished and left on the side of a road west of Salem.
Roanoke County officials have been unable to figure out where it came from, but they speculate it was once a day-care center because of the colorful cartoon characters painted on the walls.
The orphaned day-care center is an extreme example of a problem that county officials fear will only get worse once the new regional landfill opens this fall.
With tipping fees more than doubling to $60 a ton, officials fear that more commercial haulers could be driven to dump on remote mountain hillsides and in illegal landfills.
The Board of Supervisors held a work session last month to discuss ways to prevent illegal dumping and clean up at least 60 known dump sites in the county.
Supervisors came up with some novel ideas, but no real solutions.
Lee Eddy suggested the county might discourage roadside dumping by erecting electrified fences.
"How about high-powered rifles?" Harry Nickens quipped.
Planning Director Terry Harrington said enforcement is virtually impossible because illegal dumping usually takes place on remote mountain roads spread out over the fringes of the county's 250 square miles.
Harrington noted that garbage has reappeared at Crowell Gap, where Roanoke and Franklin counties hauled away 33 tons of appliances, tires, beds and even cars in 1991.
Gov. Douglas Wilder was so impressed with the cleanup that he dispatched Elizabeth Haskell, the secretary of natural resources, to the site for a special ceremony.
"After two years," Harrington said, "it's rapidly becoming a roadside dump of choice again."
Even if the county came up with a way to halt illegal dumping, it still would have the problem of cleaning up existing sites that include at least 26 roadside dumps, 24 private dumps and 10 unlicensed landfills.
Many illegal sites - particularly roadside dumps - have cropped up on land without the owner's permission. But some landowners have opened their property to construction crews, demolition companies and tire dealers looking for an inexpensive place to dispose of their waste.
County Attorney Paul Mahoney said options are limited when the county goes after owners of illegal dumps and landfills.
The law includes penalties and fines for violators, but there are no provisions to force landowners to clean up the mess they have created, Mahoney said.
Many illegal dump owners cannot afford to hire someone to remove the trash or comply with stringent state guidelines that call for a protective cap and monitoring wells.
Roanoke County has been reluctant to sue landowners to force them to clean up unlicensed dumps. Officials fear that if the landowners are indigent, then the courts may shift the financial burden to the county.
"We could go after them and the shotgun gets turned on us," Mahoney said. "The courts may decide that the county is the only party involved that has the resources and expertise to do the job."
County officials believe that spending taxpayer money to clean up illegal dumps would send the wrong message to violators.
"They would think it's easier to dump on the side of the road because we'll come get it," County Administrator Elmer Hodge said.
Roanoke County hopes to come up with some solutions by October, when the new regional landfill on Fort Lewis Mountain comes on line and tipping fees increase.
One idea is to require companies obtaining demolition permits to certify where they dispose of building materials.
Harrington said surrounding areas would have to enact the same requirements or crews could bring in debris from outside the county, which apparently is how the day-care building made its way to Allie Lane in the western part of Roanoke County.
"If we solve our problem, all we'll do is drive it to Franklin, Botetourt and Bedford counties," he said. "It has to be a regional approach."
The Board of Supervisors appointed a team of county and state officials to make recommendations by early fall.
Mahoney hopes the team will have better luck than his office alone in coming up with a solution.
"If I was dictator for a day and could pass any law I wanted to, I don't know if I could come up with something better than what we have now," he said.
by CNB