Officials push for transparency on testing around Shoosmith Landfill

Local, state, and federal officials held a closed-door meeting on July 1 to discuss the next steps for managing Shoosmith Landfill in Chesterfield, which is leaking 50,000 gallons a day of toxic leachate and is poised to spur an “environmental catastrophe,” Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, said.

Va. legislature grants emergency funds to help close leaking, bankrupt landfill in Chesterfield

Sen. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, on Wednesday stated on Twitter that the Department of Environmental Quality is working with the attorney general’s office to criminally investigate the actions of the landfill’s out-of-state owners. The senator and Attorney General Jay Jones did not respond to requests for comment. 

The landfill filed for bankruptcy in 2025 and has not taken in new trash since 2022. A trustee is now overseeing the landfill and its closure, using $19 million in bonds left from the owners. It will cost about $173 million to totally clear away the leachate and clean up the landfill. 

Sturtevant said that “all options are on the table” for paying the cost, including trying to claw back funds from the owners.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got private individuals who did a very poor job of running this landfill. They ran it into bankruptcy, and then they ran off to Texas or somewhere and left this mess,” Sturtevant said.

Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, said in an update to his constituents that time is of the essence, and the state can’t wait for potential legal action to produce funds for the leachate management.

“We cannot gamble against time waiting for some money to maybe be recovered while leachate continues to build up,” Cherry’s post stated. “Given the immediate risks, the Commonwealth cannot afford to wait while litigation plays out.”

In the final budget passed by the General Assembly in June, $10.6 million was allocated to the cleanup efforts, which was estimated to run out of funds as soon as August. That money will be used to truck the leachate offsite to be treated and disposed. 

The James River Association estimates that about $50 million will be needed over the next two years to establish an on-site leachate and treatment facility to slow the spread into the local environment, including the nearby Swift Creek.

At the July 1 meeting with officials, residents who live near the facility agreed that test results from water and soil surrounding the landfill should be made public. That testing was confirmed by the bankruptcy trustee, according to Sturtevant, but the results haven’t been disclosed.

Releasing that information is critical, Sturtevant said, “so we can know exactly what it is that they are testing for, and then we can find out if there are things that they are not testing for that should be getting tested.” 

Officials also revealed at the meeting that a bern made of coal ash is present onsite, but DEQ Director Mike Rolband said it does not pose an environmental risk at this time.

“What we know is that the berm is a mechanically stabilized earth berm. The backfill material that’s used in the berm in our permit allows it to be combustion or coal combustion residuals” known colloquially as fly ash, Rolband said. “The cross section shows that it’s fully encapsulated by fabric. We have not seen any evidence of any pollution at all coming from that wall.”

Additionally, a Richmond-based pretreatment facility, Aqua Clean Environmental of Virginia, LLC, was given a violation notice from the city for taking in leachate from the Shoosmith Landfill and discharging wastewater derived from that leachate into city systems – a violation of the facility’s permit. 

Director of the Richmond Department of Public Utilities Scott Morris told Rolband in an email that the city is considering enforcement of Aqua Clean’s violation. Shoosmith still has two other locations where it is able to truck out the leachate, Rolband said.

A report on the landfill’s clean up and funding options will be presented by Secretary of Natural & Historic Resources David Bulova, alongside other state agencies, by Oct. 5, Cherry said.