(The Center Square) – An environmental oversight program in North Carolina created in 2007 hasn’t investigated nearly 8 in 10 landfills, a state audit says, and 80% of those sites are within 1,000 feet of homes, schools, daycares, churches or drinking water wells.
The performance audit analyzed the Department of Environmental Quality’s Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program. Identified were 688 landfill sites where municipal solid waste disposal occurred without regulatory oversight, including 534 never investigated by the department’s program.
In the Division of Waste Management, the program was created 19 years ago to identify, assess and remediate sites that accepted a wide range of waste prior to 1983. That’s the demarcation point for what are considered modern environmental regulations.
“The Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program is a complex issue that creates challenges from a regulatory, legal, funding, and administrative standpoint,” said first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek. “But the bottom line is there are hundreds of potentially hazardous landfill sites across North Carolina, and despite tax dollars supporting a program meant to investigate these sites, 78% haven’t been examined. This audit lays out the facts, giving taxpayers a reliable update on a longstanding government issue.”
Boliek’s office said program management estimates an average cost to investigate, assess and remediate a site at $1.9 million. Applied to uninvestigated sites, the cost would be in the $1 billion neighborhood.
Over 19 years, 97 sites have been probed – or about two per year. The Division of Environmental Quality secured 370 acres of waste, sampled 1,642 water supply wells and provided alternate water to 30 homes.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.