Virginia approves $26.5M for Bristol landfill remediation; local advocacy organizations respond

BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — Bristol Va.‘s challenging task of environmental remediation at its former landfill got a huge economic boost Monday with the inclusion of $26.5 million in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s final approved fiscal 2025 budget.

The state funding greatly eases the potential burden on city taxpayers as Bristol continues extensive efforts to prevent further release of noxious gases that prompted community outcry in 2020 and led to the landfill’s closure in September 2022.

Local man left paying loan for seized truck discovered to be stolen from Atlanta

The money is on top of the $35 million Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced last December for “key projects associated with Bristol Landfill remediation.”

Joel Kellogg is President of Hope for Bristol, an advocacy group that first brought issues at the landfill to the city’s and public’s attention in late 2020. He told News Channel 11 on Tuesday the funding is much needed if Bristol is going to fully complete remediation work and adequately monitor its impacts in the future, but he said he believes the Commonwealth needs to step up even further.

“While this amount is significant, it falls well short of the total that the residents of Bristol, Va. will have to bear,” Kellogg said in a statement.

“The State (sic.) of Virginia, through the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, has enabled this disaster via years of lax enforcement and monitoring,” he continued. “We feel the State of Virginia should commit to the total remediation and maintenance costs of this failed landfill. The residents of Bristol, Va. should not be saddled with this financial burden.”

FULL WJHL COVERAGE OF THE BRISTOL LANDFILL

The City of Bristol included the following statement on its web page dedicated to the landfill issue:

“The City would like to thank Virginia lawmakers, especially Governor Youngkin and our local representatives, Senator Todd Pillion and Delegate Israel O’Quinn, for ensuring this critical funding remained in the final budget.”

The state support will minimize the long-term financial impact on City residents by greatly reducing the need to borrow additional funds to resolve the existing environmental and odor issues at the Quarry Landfill.

The City and its staff have worked “tirelessly to advocate for and secure the additional funds, and we sincerely appreciate the patience and support of our residents as crews continue work to complete the remaining remediation efforts at the Quarry Landfill.”

Mayor Becky Nave said the city greatly needed this funding.

“Without that funding, Bristol would be in very bad shape,” Nave said. “We were down to just pennies, honestly, to figure out how we were going to fund what we need to do with the landfill. So by having that funding in place now, we’re able to do those projects at the landfill and fund those without going into debt even more.”

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, a first reading of an ordinance to amend the meals tax from 10% to 11% was voted down.

Restaurant owners and more voiced their concerns about how this would hurt their businesses. Originally this was proposed to help offset costs of the landfill.

Also on first reading, city leaders voted for lodging tax to go up from 13% to 15% and trash collection fees from $48 to $38. A budget ordinance for FY 2024-2025 was passed on first reading as well.

“We have some of the highest taxes in the state,” Nave said. “Our real estate taxes are high. Our meals and lodging are high. Across the board, we’ve raised every tax. And so it’s huge for our residents not to have these, to [not] have more taxes raised this year.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.