Residents chide 'toxic' landfill

Apr. 15—Residents say a heaping mound in the center of the county is wreaking havoc on their quality of life, emitting a stench that hangs over them every day and permeates their neighborhoods, yards and homes, some miles away. They said it's tough to breathe, and it's even harder to escape the odor, and called on county officials for help, saying the problem — like the landfill — has only gotten bigger.

A number of residents voiced their concerns to Sampson County officials earlier this month regarding the Sampson County Landfill, which is owned and operated by GFL Environmental Inc. A Canadian company, GFL merged with Waste Industries back in 2018.

The landfill is located at 7434 Roseboro Highway, approximately 8 miles west of Clinton and 4 miles east of Roseboro on N.C. 24. It accepts construction and demolition debris, commercial yard waste, business, residential and agricultural waste, and is permitted to get garbage from all 100 counties in this state and beyond.

Whitney Parker of the Snow Hill community said the landfill is a problem that has been passed through the generations.

"I'm here to express my concerns with the effects of the toxic waste dump," said Parker, leading off a public comment portion at the tail end of the Sampson County Board of Commissioners meeting. "The past of my parents is the beginning for me, because the common denominator is the toxins from this landfill.

"I have rodents that run all over my backyard, eating the wiring harnesses out of my car. I've spent a small fortune on pest control from Lowe's, sought out pest control people to come out — can't get rid of them. I have buzzards lurching in my trees at all times of the day," Parker continued. "You can barely go out and stand, (let alone) sleep in your bed. One night I was sleeping, the smell was so bad it woke me and I couldn't go back to sleep. I had to drive almost to Autryville to get away from the smell."

Parker asked what the county is doing to eradicate the smell, the pests and the other adverse effects from the landfill. He said the traffic is another concern, with trucks coming down the backroads to the landfill.

"Kids can't even play," he said. "These trucks are doing 70 mph down these small roads. When I grew up, that's all I did was play out in the road and not in the woods. It's a very serious problem."

Rev. Jimmy Melvin of Old Mintz Highway, Roseboro, is a few miles away from the landfill and said the smell is staggering.

"I'm about three miles from the landfill and it stifles us — and we're three miles away," said Melvin. "If you go at a certain time, from my road to Roseboro (N.C.) 242, up to Spivey's Corner, when you come by Lakewood High School on that hill, you might as well cut your air conditioner off because it's going to suffocate you."

Melvin asked how far county commissioners live away from the landfill. Board Chairman Jerol Kivett said about six miles, commissioner Sue Lee said she lived closer than that.

"It's causing some real problems," said Melvin. "We just found out, it's about 1,400 acres, but they've just increased it 300 more acres. When, at this point, is there going to be a cap on it? We are one of three landfills that will accept anything. There are six or seven different types of trucks that take stuff in there — anything from animal waste from the plants, chemical waste..."

"We're just a sitting duck and it's not getting better," Melvin continued. "It's not just the Snow Hill community. That's the Roseboro area. Folks, when they visit, they want to know 'what is wrong?' It's an issue that I think we all need to get involved in because it's creating not only that, but a health issue."

"Just to be clear, there is no expansion at this time," said Kivett in replying to Melvin's assertion of a 300-acre expansion.

Melvin asked whether there was a cap, not just to the size, but as to length of time the landfill would be in existence.

"They have a contract that we entered into years ago," Kivett said, "and that will be honored, but there is no expansion at this time that I am aware of. Are you, Mr. Causey?"

"No, sir," the county manager answered. "I want to say, sometimes depending on what's coming in, I think they've got right now, on the existing facility, somewhere between 14 and 15 years left."

Audible murmurs came over the crowd gathered at the Board of Commissioners meeting, followed by the pounding of Kivett's gavel.

"To be clear, that's not in our purview," the chairman attested. "That was a contract that was entered in years ago and, of course, it is regulated by the state."

Paul Fisher of Marion Amos Road, Roseboro, lives right next to the landfill.

"Y'all are not responsible for it being there," said Fisher to commissioners, "but what you're gonna be held responsible for is letting it continue and get out of order like it is. I've been messing with this thing for 30, 4o years, fighting against this landfill. Nothing can't be done until the last few months or so, when it's starting to spread all over the county, which I'm glad it has so it can bring some attention to what we've been bothered with for the past 15-20 years."

Linda Benson of Roseboro Highway, pointed to Sampson's status as the "second (most) toxic landfill in the United States."

She was referring to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding 2021 greenhouse gas emissions from large facilities. The 2021 figures are the most recent available from the agency.

Sampson County ranks second in the nation in methane emissions: 824,568 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the 2021 EPA figures. Of the estimated 1,321 municipal solid waste landfills in the U.S., only a facility in West Palm Beach emits more, at 1.01 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

A CO2 equivalent, or "CO2e," converts different greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, to a common unit based on their global warming potential.

Among North Carolina landfills, Sampson's has far and away the most methane emissions. Its 824,568 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent is five times higher than the landfill with the next highest methane emissions, Great Oak Landfill in Randleman, at 162,452 metric tons.

According to the County of Sampson website, under the existing facility permit and under applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, the waste accepted at the landfill "includes, but is not limited to, household, commercial or municipal refuse, ashes, sludges, animal manure, residue from incineration, food processing wastes, dredging wastes, tires, asbestos, but expressly excluding nuclear waste or waste defined as hazardous waste under applicable federal, state, and/or local laws or regulations."

The first dump site in Sampson opened in the 1970s, with expansions in the early 2000s. The landfill is permitted to accept qualified waste from all counties of the State of North Carolina.

"We are not around industry, It's piped in," said Benson. "I travel a lot in my job, I leave 2 in the morning, 4 in the morning, they'll be burning this stuff and you can't breathe. When I stay at my mother's house, it's so toxic I cannot breathe. I literally wear a mask to bed because of the toxic. We should never allow that to happen."

She compared the Sampson County Landfill to Pacific Gas and Electric Company's dump of nearly 400 million gallons of chromium-tainted wastewater into unlined wastewater spreading ponds in California in the 1950s and 1960s. She compared it to the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania and the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio.

"It will stay in your soil forever," said Benson. "It's like cancer in a bottle. And I'm frustrated with it. I expect that dump to be shut down; it needs to be shut down."

Benson maintained that she had "a lot of experience with environmental ... at a high level."

"And I do not appreciate that we have just destroyed Sampson County," Benson imparted. "This stuff is toxic. It's in the air, it's in the ground, it's in your home, it's in your body. Who's going to be responsible for that? Roseboro and Sampson County is not the trash dump for the United States, however it's been the trash dump for the United States. I'd appreciate if you look into it and shut it down."

A Sampson native, Danielle Koonce penned a piece published recently in the Fayetteville Observer

Koonce, a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland-College Park, is currently working on her dissertation, which covers environmental justice and rural networks in Black, rural communities. Koonce and her family live in Roseboro, where she was born and raised.

Earlier this year, she helped collect water samples throughout Sampson County through a project coordinated by the Environmental Justice Community Action Network and researchers from Appalachian State. They visited more than homes throughout Sampson County, hearing from a variety of people.

"One issue reverberated throughout these predominantly Black communities: the damage and loss of quality life that has been caused by the Sampson County Landfill," Koonce stated in her editorial. "We heard story after story of the terrible gaseous smell that emanates from the landfill and seeps into the homes of the residents that live nearby — and even several miles away.

"We learned that the landfill receives trash from around the state, from as far away as New York City, and even trash that comes in on ship-barges through Wilmington.

Community members can no longer enjoy the simple pleasures, whether gardening or some time on their porches or in their yards, "due to the thick odor and fumes from the landfill,' Koonce stated.

"What's upsetting is that the people here tried hard to fight the landfill from being put in the center of the community in the first place. They organized, brought in journalists, networked with environmental groups, petitioned their county commissioners — yet the residents' wishes were ignored," she wrote.

"Leaders and decision-makers made promises and gave assurances to the people that their properties and community would be environmentally safe and financially secure," Koonce maintained. "It is now 20 years later, and these promises have all been broken."

For the residents who spoke to commissioners, they said it's been a problem for a long time, and they want help.

"When the air blow, let it blow wherever it's gonna blow, and y'all will understand what we've been going through these last years," Fisher asserted. "I can't even go outside and sit on my deck because of the smell. I've retired, I've done my service in the military, I can't even enjoy myself."

Sherwin Parker of Chester Road, Roseboro, said he lives about 800 feet from the landfill.

"I'm a veteran, I have problems with my sinuses, I'm sick most of the time," said Parker. "It's pretty much frontline. We've got a problem. Anyone who lives there will come in and basically say the same thing I'm saying. Can we get some help? We can't breathe. We need some help."

"We hear you, and we appreciate you stepping up," Kivett stated. The board then adjourned the meeting.

Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.