DATE: Monday, November 3, 1997              TAG: 9711030059

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   47 lines

STATE SEES NEW JOBS IN IMPORTED TRASH; CRITICS SEE PROBLEMS

Virginia's landfill industry is thriving on out-of-state garbage, but critics question whether trash is a good foundation for the state's future.

A report is due this summer from the state Depart ment of Environmental Quality on how much waste is disposed of in Virginia and where it comes from. Hassan Vakili, director of the landfill permitting division, said the information will help regulators decide if more supervision is needed on garbage imports.

Industry sources reported Virginia imports about 2 million tons a year of garbage, from places such as New York City, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington, making it the second largest garbage importer in the nation behind Pennsylvania.

``We're taking on the responsibility for somebody else's problems,'' said Jim Sharp, executive director for Campaign Virginia, which wants stricter rules on out-of-state trash. ``People don't like the idea of New York City's trash coming here. They just don't see any sense to it,'' he said.

Experts said Virginia landfills are attractive because they're close to major northeastern markets and have good rail and highway access.

``Virginia looks upon it as a business, not as a monster,'' said Gary Higgs, the manager of USA Waste's dump in King George County, which takes in about 1,800 tons of out-of-state trash a day.

Operators of seven massive landfills in southern and eastern Virginia said they need a large volume of garbage to pay for expensive liners, monitoring wells and technology needed to meet federal regulations.

But environmentalists are concerned today's technology won't hold up over time.

``The question is still whether or not you want to trust today's best available technology for tomorrow's generation,'' said Albert C. Pollard III, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club in Virginia.

Pollard dismisses claims that landfills help rural counties by creating jobs and paying taxes.

``Garbage is not evil, but garbage is not economic development,'' he said.

The Sierra Club and other groups have called for more state oversight of out-of-state garbage. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled that one state has no right to refuse garbage from another.

A bill that would give states greater rights in regulating imported garbage is stuck in the U.S. House Commerce Committee, where its chairman, Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr., a Republican from Richmond, has not scheduled a vote.

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