VDOT Orders Access Permits Revoked for Commercial Vehicles Entering Smith Landfill Effective August 31

Smith Claims He is Just Building Up Grazing Land and Building Ponds

Donovan Construction officials tell VDOT that Smith needs just a couple more months to finish off the topsoil importation to prepare for the newly constructed pasture land to be seeded.  Prince William County officials say they have heard that same old "song and dance" from Smith for over two years.  


Robert K. Richardson, the attorney for the Smith Landfill, asked VDOT to stay out of the dispute because what Smith is doing on his land is a legitimate farming operation, but even he argued the "land leveling is almost complete."  Richardson asked VDOT to "leave the permits in place, let the judicial process run its course, and see what happens when the court again deals with the issues in November."


VDOT refused, and determined that the "permits for the temporary construction entrances should be suspended effective August 31, 2011.  This will allow the Smith Farm time to complete their activities without continuing into the new school year."


Here is the letter from VDOT to Prince William County:

 

Here is Smith Attorney Robert K. Richardson's letter to VDOT:

 

VA DEQ Sees No Problems with Smith Dump

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality provided the following report on their inspection of the Smith Dump:

Mr. Haddow, Delegate Marshall:

Thank you for notifying DEQ and expressing your concerns with the operation at Smith Farm.

On Friday, June 24, Dan Demers, DEQ Waste Compliance Inspector, inspected the site and operation and spoke with representatives of Donovan Construction and Smith Farm.

Dan observed the contents of approximately 20 trucks that arrived on-site to dump soils; none of the truck loads contained materials that would characterize the soils as either contaminated soil or as solid waste.  These observations match those made by DEQ in June 2010.  Donovan Construction, and Smith Farm, require haulers of each truck to complete a form stating that the contents are clean fill and they keep a log of any truck that is turned away for unacceptable material.

With these observations, DEQ has no reason to believe that the material being brought to Smith Farm is anything other than clean fill.  As such, the soils are not subject to Virginia’s Solid Waste Management Regulations or DEQ’s oversight.

Please let me, Dan, or Rich Doucette know if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Tom


Dan Demers              Waste Compliance Inspector      daniel.demers@deq.virginia.gov

Rich Doucette           Land Protection Manager richard.doucette@deq.virginia.gov

Thomas A. Faha

Director, Northern Regional Office

Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality

13901 Crown Ct

Woodbridge, VA  22193

703/583-3810

The following response was sent to Mr. Faha:

Mr. Faha:

I am attaching photos of materials that are a part of the landfill on the Smith property that now towers some 30 feet from the original topography of the land.  If you need affidavits from individuals who took these pictures and observed the content of the landfill you have determined to be in compliance with DEQ's standards, then I believe they can be provided.

The pictures speak for themselves.  I would appreciate your specific response to whether the materials shown in the pictures are in compliance with DEQ regulations, and if you believe that to be true, then cite the specific sections of your regulations that allow you to dump rubber-based products, plastics, asphalt and similar debris.  Even if Smith and Donovan have stopped bringing in the non-compliant materials, what has DEQ done to require the removal or mitigation of these obviously non-compliant materials that appear to be under the current landfill from previous loads dumped there?

When I spoke with the DEQ personnel they informed me they would schedule an appointment to visit the Smith Landfill.  Your description of the pre-arranged inspection, including a review of 20 loads and the manifests attesting it is only clean dirt, does not appear to be much of an inspection under the circumstances.

I am also attaching a price sheet that is represented to be a document provided by Donovan Construction where they charge more for loads that contain tires or asphalt.  Are these permitted materials, or considered "clean fill?"

I would appreciate your specific response to these questions.

Best regards,

Mac
--
Mac Haddow
mhaddow@comcast.net
703-754-6404

Dump Truck Inspection Clampdown!

While residents in the immediate area are focused on eliminating the dump truck traffic on Catharpin Road, there is an underlying issue about the safety of the trucks themselves.  The Prince William County Police Department is clamping down on unsafe trucks with regular inspections, and the heavy volume of dump truck traffic on Catharpin Road obviously provides an excellent opportunity to verify the compliance of the trucks with various commercial vehicle regulations.

Thursday afternoon, dump truck drivers heading to the Smith Dump encountered a safety check that at least provides a measure of comfort for drivers on the roads that the dump trucks will have to be fully compliant with safety specifications.

The next step is to ramp up speeding enforcement, and the requirement the dump trucks have to stay in their own travel lane.  The number of accidents, and near-accidents illustrates the ongoing safety hazard.

Thanks to the Prince William County Police Department for their assistance in doing all they can to keep the roads safe until we can shut down the Smith Dump for good.

Road Surface Fix Done -- Jury Still Out on Ditch Fix

VDOT adequately patched the asphalt pothole that was getting worse and worse each day that was located immediately in front of the entrance to the Smith Dump, but the fix to the damage to the shoulder and easement across from the Red Fence Farm is a little more murky.

It appears the contractor just smoothed out the contours of the ditch and did little or nothing to re-elevate the bottom of the ditch to where it was prior to the disaster with the dump truck.  If a car or truck left the road at that point, it would clearly bottom out on the frame just as the dump truck did that caused the problem in the first place.


It looks like VDOT needs to reassess this fix and make appropriate modifications to enhance the safety of this section of Catharpin Road.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Confirms Inspection WILL Take Place at Smith Dump By The End of Week

Officials at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in response to the Incident Complaint filed earlier this month, will send inspectors to the Smith Dump by the end of this week.

The Smith property owners have been claiming they do not accept any hazardous materials at the dump site that would create a threat to the groundwater or nearby waterways, but pictures of materials that have been dumped at the site dispute that. 

Just getting DEQ to agree to conduct an inspection is a great victory because that agency has, until now, been very reluctant to intervene on any land were agricultural activities may be occurring.

The pictures that were sent with the Complaint apparently convinced them it was worth a look.

VDOT Working On Ditch Today -- One More Step Forward

VDOT crews started work on Tuesday morning to repair the ditch on the road shoulder across from the Red Fence Farm on Catharpin Road.

VDOT is to be commended for taking this important step.

We certainly hope that the costs for this repair will be assessed against the Smith Landfill because the truck that caused this ditch was headed to the Smith Dump to drop its load.

The next repair that VDOT needs to focus on is the growing super-sized pothole directly across from the entrance to the illegal Smith Dump.  The road damage at that location is significant and needs repair to stop further damage that will be even more expensive to repair.

The dump trucks literally pound this road surface as the enter and exit from this location.

Prince William County Sends Demand to VDOT to Revoke Catharpin Road Access Permit to Smith Dump

Delegate Bob Marshall and Senator Colgan Join Supervisor Stirrup and Candidate Candland in the Fight to Protect Our Safety

Prince William County political powerhouses Senator Charles J. Colgan (D), and Delegate Bob Marshall (R), have added their names along side Gainesville Supervisor John Stirrup and Gainesville Supervisor candidate Pete Candland in the fight to make our streets safer from the incessant stream of dump trucks on Catharpin Road.

Senator Colgan is the senior member of the Virginia State Senate, and he has been a strong advocate for the Oak Valley community in the past, as well as other HOA's in the Gainesville area.

Delegate Bob Marshall is a fearless advocate for the issues he takes on, and Bob has agreed to help with protecting the safety of drivers on Catharpin Road.  He will be a great spokesperson for our effort to resolve the ongoing problem with the dump truck traffic to the Smith Dump.




Supervisor Stirrup has been our champion from day one on this issue, and the entire community owes him a huge thank you.  His tireless advocacy and strong voice on the Board of Supervisors has kept the heat on a bureaucracy that would rather look the other way.




Gainesville Supervisor candidate Pete Candland has been the first candidate in the Supervisors race to step up and publicly call upon VDOT to close the Smith Dump access road, and to stop the dump truck traffic that endangers the public.  We hope other candidates will have the courage to join Pete in helping us with this fight, no matter how powerful or how politically connected the Smith dump operators are.

The Great Catharpin Mystery Caper: Who Dunnit?

The signs were up for about six hours, and then they went missing.

Who could have stolen the signs?

Surely it wasn't anyone driving along Catharpin Road because everyone wants that ditch fixed.  It's a serious safety hazard that has gone on for three weeks now.

It is unlikely any average taxpayer stole the signs because none of them want to pay the bill to fix the ditch that was created by a dump truck headed to the Smith Dump.

So, if not them, who in the world would want to steal those signs?

Any ideas Mr. Smith?

VDOT: Fix This Ditch. And Make Smith Pay, Not Us!

Smith Says It's a Farm -- The Dump Truck Drivers Call it "The Catharpin Dump"

The Smith property owners want everyone, including VDOT and the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, to absolutely know that all they are doing on their property is running a farm.  This was the defense that was invoked in the public nuisance trial last year, and the Judge bought the argument, citing the very broad statutory definition of what farmers are allowed to do on their land.

However, the Prince William County Zoning Administration filed a violation notice that found that what Smith was running with all of the dump truck traffic was not a farm, but a land recycling center, and since the property was zoned only for agricultural use, the Smith property owners were in violation.  The fact that Smith was accepting money from construction debris haulers to dump their loads on his property supported the County's argument that this was a landfill operation.

For just a few weeks following the Zoning Violation, the Smith Landfill was shut down.  Then, the Smith Landfill started back up again.  Now Mr. Smith purportedly is claiming he is not accepting any money.  The County Attorney says there is still money or value exchanging hands, and the discovery in the case is ongoing.  Someone is just not telling the truth here.

If the Smith claim is true, then why are there loads of dirt being hauled OUT of the property?  If it really is to build up the land for grazing livestock, why would trucks be leaving with dirt from that site?

The edge of the landfill now exceeds 30 feet, and the only livestock that would graze on that dirt (assuming any grass could even grow on it) would be a mountain billy goat.  Has anyone ordered any mountain billy goat at the restaurant lately?

Dump truck drivers who bring the dirt into the Smith landfill have two names for the site:  (1) the Catharpin Dump; or (2) the Donovan Dump.  Donovan Construction handles the dirt processing in the landfill on the Smith property.

If you are interested, here is the definitions in the Virginia Code on what a farm activity really is:

§ 3.2-300. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Agricultural operation" means any operation devoted to the bona fide production of crops, or animals, or fowl including the production of fruits and vegetables of all kinds; meat, dairy, and poultry products; nuts, tobacco, nursery, and floral products; and the production and harvest of products from silviculture activity.

"Production agriculture and silviculture" means the bona fide production or harvesting of agricultural or silvicultural products but shall not include the processing of agricultural or silvicultural products or the above ground application or storage of sewage sludge.

(1981, c. 384, §§ 3.1-22.28, 3.1-22.29; 1991, c. 293; 1994, c. 779; 2007, c. 444; 2008, c. 860.) 

By the way, "silviculture" refers to the growing of trees.

VDOT Backs Off Ditch Fix Schedule -- Now It is "Going to be Put on the Maintenance Schedule"

 

VDOT has now backed off its commitment to have the dangerous ditch repaired today (Friday, June 17) because the ditch is so deep VDOT will likely have to hire an outside contractor to repair it. 

That, of course, will add to the taxpayers bill for this road damage caused by a dump truck headed to the Smith Dump.