Dumfries trying to move mountain of debris to free up prime real estate

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
August 2007

No one wants a landfill in their backyard. Dumfries, unfortunately, already has one that is massive, smelly and highly visible. "It's not exactly the landmark you want in your community," says Town Manager David Whitlow, who notes that the 1.7 million ton mountain of debris isn't even lucrative, bringing in less than $20,000 a year in local tax revenue. "Of course, we'd like it to be gone."

Officials at the Potomac Landfill would like to comply with that sentiment. Started in the late 1980s as an illegal "stump dump," the landfill eventually got an environmental permit. It has become a favorite site for busy construction companies looking for a place to get rid of wallboard, scrap metal and other building and demolition materials. The landfill now is nearly at capacity. Because it sits on 100 acres of prime real estate at the intersection of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 234, landfill officials believe that, cleaned up, the site could be a potential gold mine for developers.

For now, though, Whitlow says the town and the landfill are trying to focus on the daunting challenge of cleaning up and removing the debris. Burwin Reed, a waste management specialist hired to do the job, has estimated that the task could cost $25 million and take six years.

Town Council and the landfill operators have not worked out all the issues, but Whitlow expects the cleanup project to move forward by summer's end. "We'll do what we have to do to get this thing gone," he says. "There's no question about that."