On April 15, 2004, Delegate Frederick wrote to Attorney General Jerry Kilgore requesting on behalf of the residents of the Town of Dumfries that he take action.

That letter states:

"Since the early days of my campaign for the House of Delegates last year, I have come to be painfully aware of the Potomac Landfill (“Landfill”) in Dumfries and the nuisance, problems, and harm it has caused the Town of Dumfries (“Town”) and its residents. I have walked the Tripoli Heights neighborhood, which backs up to the landfill and have personallyseen (and smelled) the effects firsthand: kids can’t play in their backyards; residents can’t open up their windows on a nice day; office buildings have been evacuated; and Town economic development efforts have been hindered.

I’m writing you today in the hope that you and those in your office will come to recognize a serious and lasting public health and safety matter located within this Town -- and move to act on our concerns."

I wanted to just take a moment to expand a bit on the story that recently appeared in the Potomac News regarding my efforts in shutting down the Potomac Landfill in Dumfries.

As many are well aware, the landfill is consistently being found in violation of laws and regulations. My April letter to the Attorney General mentions a number of these (you can find that letter on my website at www.va52.com). Except, is it accurate to call them violations? Most people look at the law and know if a law is being obeyed or it is not. DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), however, negotiates with the violator on what exactly the violation will be.

"We are in the process of negotiations and I can't discuss them," said John B. Bowden, Northern Virginia Regional deputy director for DEQ. (from the 5/20 story)

It is as if you are stopped for speeding and before the officer writes the ticket, you are able to negotiate with the officer on what exactly he will write the citation for. As of the last report I received, this is precisely what is going on now between Potomac Landfill and DEQ, and purportedly, one of the reasons things are moving so slowly. If I was Potomac Landfill, I'd want to drag things out too.

I plan to submit legislation to address this very issue -- to make a violation a violation, without the consent of the violator.

Second, DEQ makes the case that Potomac Landfill is cooperating, and thus there is no need to request further action from the Attorney General's office.

DEQ practice again seems opposite to the way most things in law and regulatory enforcement work. People caught speeding often will at some point lose their driving privileges. Their license to operate will be suspended. Sure, sometimes there is an opportunity to correct the problem and go to driver school, but not time and time again, repeat offense after another.

DEQ claims that since the landfill is continuing to correct the problem, they can continue to operate -- notwithstanding the repeated (or how many) violations, nor the fact that one violation may be corrected just as a new, different violation comes to light.

We're doing all we can to conclusively deal with this landfill nuisance, but I -- and the residents of the Town of Dumfries -- need your help. Please contact the Governor and Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources Tayloe Murphy who supervises DEQ (contact information on my website) and let them know we need swift and recognizable action in protecting the citizens, children, and economic development of Dumfries by shutting down the Potomac Landfill. I'll continue my efforts as well.

• The Honorable Mark Warner
  Governor
  State Capitol, 3rd Floor
  Richmond, Virginia 23219
  Phone: (804) 786-2211
  Email (click here)
• The Honorable W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr.
  Secretary of Natural Resources
  Ninth Street Office Bldg, 7th Floor
  202 N. Ninth Street
  Richmond, VA 23219
  Phone: (804) 786-0044
  Email: sonradmin@governor.virginia.gov