What's next for Chesterfield's $173M Shoosmith Landfill cleanup
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An aerial view of Shoosmith Landfill off Iron Bridge Road. Photo: Courtesy of the James River Association
Virginia lawmakers are demanding the release of environmental test results at the bankrupt Shoosmith Landfill as work to stabilize the site moves forward, saying they want proof that it poses no public health risks.
Why it matters: The Chesterfield landfill has become one of Virginia's biggest environmental cleanup challenges, with an estimated $173 million cleanup cost that may ultimately fall to taxpayers.
Catch up quick: County officials and a bankruptcy trustee say years of mismanagement left the 1970s-era landfill generating about 50,000 gallons of toxic wastewater, called leachate, each day.
- The landfill stopped operating in 2024, and its owners filed for bankruptcy last summer — sending state and local governments scrambling to coordinate an emergency response while the bankruptcy case plays out.
- State lawmakers approved $10.6 million in the budget this year to keep leachate disposal and monitoring going through next May, per state Sen. Glen Sturtevant, who represents Colonial Heights.
The latest: Last Wednesday, Virginia environmental regulators met in a closed-door meeting with Chesterfield County officials, the Environmental Protection Agency, the bankruptcy trustee and local lawmakers about the cleanup.
- Sturtevant told Axios they learned that a berm separating the landfill from Swift Creek — a drinking water source for Chesterfield — was built with coal ash, which can contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals.
- Shannon Orcutt, the James River Association's government affairs manager, told Axios the use of coal ash "significantly increas[es] the risk of long-term environmental damage if comprehensive action is not taken."
- The trustee disclosed that recent testing on the berm had been done but not made public, prompting Sturtevant and state Sen. Mike Jones to call for those and other environmental test results to be released.
Zoom in: Both lawmakers said the assurances that there is no current public health or safety concern — including no impact on drinking water — are not enough.
- "When you're saying, 'Hey, we're on the brink of a catastrophe' — how close?" Jones, who represents Chesterfield, told Axios.
- "I want to see numbers. I want to see reports. I want to see consistent testing," he said. "Everyone has a right to know."
The intrigue: Richmond-area lawmakers are pushing for Virginia to tighten landfill oversight laws and strengthen penalties for operators that abandon sites without properly closing them.
- The latter is already a criminal offense if it results in significant harm, said Irina Calos, a spokesperson for the state Department of Environmental Quality.
- Calos told Axios that DEQ had been pursuing compliance issues before the owners filed for bankruptcy, but she noted enforcement actions don't always bring facilities into compliance.
Meanwhile, the agency said it's cooperating with the Office of the Attorney General in ongoing investigations into the owners' actions.
- The Attorney General's Office declined to comment and the trustee didn't respond to Axios.
What's next: Officials providing another landfill update at the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors meeting on July 22, with a portal expected to go live July 16 for residents' questions, per a county spokesperson.
- DEQ is required to submit recommendations for long-term funding by Oct. 5.