City, SPSA wrangle over landfill

By Tracy Agnew (Contact) | Suffolk News-Herald

Published Friday, March 20, 2009

The Southeastern Public Service Authority says it is working with the city of Suffolk to come to a resolution on a stop-work order that it says is costing it thousands per day.

Suffolk issued the order two weeks ago, saying that SPSA was beginning construction of Cell VII at the regional landfill that SPSA operates in Suffolk. City officials say, though, that prior to that construction, SPSA should have received approval of site plans, installed a row of evergreen trees as a buffer between Portsmouth Boulevard and the landfill and obtained environmental permits from various agencies.

A SPSA spokesman, however, says the authority is not constructing the new trash disposal area, but is only taking dirt from the area to cover existing cells that are full of garbage – a use that was allowed in the conditional use permit approved in September 2007.

“We’re not taking nearly as much as you’d need to dig out to construct a landfill,” said Tom Kreidel, a SPSA spokesman, adding that the work has been going on for about nine months.

The stop-work order is costing SPSA up to $5,700 a day, Kreidel said, because the contracting company must be paid whether there is dirt to move or not. The waste authority already is $240 million in debt, and is facing a $16 million budget shortfall this year. Kreidel said SPSA has found some other work the company can do in the meantime, but the authority still is losing money.

In a March 6 letter to SPSA, City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn told SPSA Executive Director Rowland Taylor that the land disturbing activity triggered the beginning of the Cell VII conditional use permit, since the permit for Cell VII indicated the soil could be used for other needs.

Therefore, the city asked that site plans be submitted, the evergreen buffer be planted and evidence be provided that all permits have been obtained.

Kreidel said SPSA is working with the city to straighten out the situation.

“It’s in the city’s and our best interest to come to an agreement on this,” he said.

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