Virginia governor announces $35M for Bristol landfill remediation

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced $35 million will go toward remediation efforts at the Bristol Quarry Landfill as part of a $500 million budget plan for additional conservation funding.

According to a statement from City Manager Randy Eads shared by News 5 WCYB, the funding will pay for financial commitments the city has made to comply with the consent decree it entered into with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia to implement remediation projects at the landfill.

“While the costs related to the important remediation work on the landfill continue to present a number of financial challenges, with this state support, the city is confident it can complete the remediation work ordered by the court and for the benefit of the larger Bristol community,” Eads says.

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In 2022, DEQ convened an expert panel to address odor problems and operational concerns at the landfill. The panel determined the site showed early signs of an elevated temperature landfill (ETLF), which resulted in odors likely being released from chimneys in the sidewalls and, given the inadequate soil cover material, from the landfill’s surface.

In March, the city of Bristol entered a consent decree with DEQ, which held it accountable for the implementation of a Sidewall Odor Mitigation System (SOMS) to eliminate odor issues; a stormwater management plan; the drilling of 31 wells to remove gas and liquids from the landfill; and an ethyl vinyl alcohol (EVOH) cover system deployment plan.

RELATED: Bristol, Virginia, requests help from state, federal agencies for landfill odors

A Dec. 15 update on the landfill’s progress says crews are continuing to install flow meters to monitor landfill liquids and stormwater and are “fine-tuning” the SOMS to maximize landfill gas extraction.

“We anticipate neighbors may continue to experience odor resulting from the change in seasons from warmer to colder weather,” the update reads. “This type of periodic fluctuation is not unexpected as we move forward with the extensive remediation work at the landfill.”

The Quarry Landfill has been closed since Sept. 9, 2022.  

As previously reported by Waste Today, the landfill caused tension between the neighboring cities of Bristol, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. A lawsuit filed in May 2022 by Bristol, Tennessee, against Bristol, Virginia, claimed the inadequate management of the Quarry Landfill was in violation of the Clean Air Act and the Resource Recovery Act. The initial complaint said residents and city employees suffered nose bleeds, headaches, migraines, nausea and eye and respiratory irritation attributed to the odors. Bristol, Tennessee, claimed also that the smell negatively impacted the city’s ability to attract and keep businesses and residents.

Litigation between the two cities was finalized in August. Bristol, Virginia, was ordered to make a one-time payment of $300,000 to Bristol, Tennessee.