|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dear Concerned Citizen:
As your mayor, you've often heard me say that a person's right to enjoy their property is paramount. The fact that any of Suffolk's citizens have had that enjoyment hampered by an outside source, we on City Council find unacceptable. That is why we took a strong and aggressive stand in locating
the source of these odors and are making sure that they are being addressed
by the responsible parties.
I know that this has been a frustrating process for those affected. But I feel confident that
those responsible for the source and the organization that has regulating authority over them
are doing everything in their power to address this issue. While the solution is not a quick fix, we
will continue to monitor to ensure that progress is being made. Suffolk City Council will continue to work for you.
Sincerely,
Linda T. Johnson
Mayor
City of Suffolk
|
 |
| Dear Concerned Citizen:
 As the councilman and a resident of the Nansemond borough, I take very seriously the odors being emitted from the SPSA landfill. At the February Community Meeting, I promised to update you with any information I received in reference to steps to correct this problem. While the City does not have regulatory control over the landfill, we have worked closely with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to ensure that they have the information needed to make accurate and timely assessments.
I recently attended the SPSA Board meeting at which the Board instructed the executive director to address this issue immediately. I am in daily contact with SCS Engineering, the firm hired by SPSA, and continue to pass along any reports of odors to them.
We will continue to monitor the situation and keep our citizens informed via all available resources to include the city's website and this new community newsletter.
Sincerely,
Councilman Leroy Bennett
Nansemond Borough
City of Suffolk
|
|
LETTER FROM DIRECTOR OF SPSA
March 10, 2010
Dear Resident of the Nansemond Parkway Area of Suffolk, As the Executive Director of the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA), I wanted to personally make you aware of our efforts to investigate and remediate an odor problem along Nansemond Parkway in Suffolk that could be emanating from the Regional Landfill that SPSA operates. The odor issue has been an agenda item at various Suffolk City Council meetings, staff meetings and a community meeting at Nansemond River High School. It has been a topic on several SPSA Board agendas as well, including the SPSA Board meeting held this past Monday. At this meeting, the Board authorized SPSA staff to contract with an environmental consultant, SCS Engineers, to perform an in-depth air quality study to identify the specific sources of the odors and to develop a plan of action to mitigate odors that may be coming from the landfill. The SCS study will include collecting air samples from the landfill itself and areas surrounding the facility and in the neighborhoods along Nansemond Parkway for field and laboratory analysis. It will also include computer modeling of local air dispersion patterns and interviews with Suffolk residents who reported the odors and SPSA personnel who operate the landfill. SCS will prepare a report of its findings and is scheduled to present it to the SPSA Board at the Board's April or May meeting of this year. Gathering this data and information is crucial to developing and implementing an effective corrective action plan. You will see SCS and SPSA personnel in the neighborhoods over the next several weeks during the early mornings (5 a.m. to 9 a.m.), day and early evenings (7 p.m. to 11 p.m.). A door hanger will be placed at the residence where a complaint call originated. These persons will have the appropriate identification. SPSA personnel will be driving SPSA vehicles. We would ask that you cooperate with these individuals so they can, in turn, help you. We are also working on a more immediate remedy to the Cell VI workforce odor problem that includes covering incoming wastes more frequently than is required by regulation and installing a temporary gas collection system to flare (burn) the gases from Cell VI, the active landfill cell. A permanent gas collection system will also be installed by SPSA's landfill gas contractor in the near future. The collection system will serve the cell which is currently being used. This will occur well in advance of the regulatory deadline to have a gas collection system in place. Please be assured that SPSA takes the odor issue seriously and we are working diligently to identify the source(s) and will address those items which are determined to be associated with the SPSA landfill. We are committed to keeping you informed of our findings and also to being available to hear your concerns. If you notice an objectionable odor near your home please contact SPSA at 757-417-5251 to report the date, time and location where the smell is observed. SPSA and SCS Engineers will promptly respond to these identified areas and SCS personnel will take odor readings and/or collect air samples for analysis. Also, please visit the SPSA web site at www.spsa.com to provide us with information that may assist us in addressing the issues at hand. The web site will also have the latest and most up-to-date information relating to what SPSA is doing to address odor problems that may be coming from the landfill. SPSA has served the City of Suffolk and southeastern Virginia for more than 30 years and we value the trust and support of the communities we serve. Disposing of waste is our mission, but doing so in an environmentally sound manner will always be our expectation and goal. Working together we will be able to address this issue. Thank you for your help and understanding. With kindest regards, I am Sincerely, Rowland L. Taylor Executive Director, SPSA
cc: SPSA Board of DirectorsMs. Selena Cuffee-Glenn, Suffolk City Manager
|
|
NEWS RELEASE
SPSA Takes Further Action to Respond
to Possible Landfill Odor Complaints
(Chesapeake, VA - March 12, 2010) SPSA, the operator of the Regional Landfill located on Route 58 in Suffolk, is taking action in response to odor complaints from resident along the Nansemond Parkway corridor. At its special meeting convened on March 8, 2010, SPSA's Board of Directors authorized the trash agency to contract with SCS Engineers of Norfolk to conduct an in-depth air quality study to identify the sources of the odors. The SCS study will include collecting landfill-source to-air samples for laboratory and field analysis, as well as samples from areas surrounding the facility and modeling local air dispersion patterns. SCS will prepare a report of its findings to present to the Board at its April or May Board meeting.
In addition, the Board instructed SPSA's Landfill staff to continue the operational controls already implemented to mitigate odors, including covering incoming wastes more frequently, and expediting the installation of a temporary gas collection system in Cell VI, the active landfill cell. A permanent gas collection system similar to the one installed in and around Cells I-V of the landfill will also be installed around Cell VI.
SPSA's Executive Director, Rowland L. Taylor, said that identifying the cause of the odors and remediating sources is SPSA's top priority. "SPSA takes pride in being a good neighbor to all communities that host our facilities. We will work closely with local and state regulatory officials to address this situation as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, Suffolk citizens who notice an objectionable odor near their homes are asked to contact SPSA at 757-417-5251 to report the date, time and location where the smell is observed. SPSA and/or SCS personnel will promptly respond to these reports to take odor readings and/or collect air samples for analysis.
|
|
PROPOSAL FROM SCS ENGINEERS
March 4, 2010
Mr. Scott Whitehurst
Southeastern Public Service Authority
723 Woodlake Drive
Chesapeake, Virginia 23320
Subject: Odor Study for SPSA's Regional Landfill, Suffolk, Virginia
Dear Mr. Whitehurst:
SCS Engineers (SCS) is pleased to submit this proposal to conduct an odor study at SPSA's Regional Landfill in response to concerns that have been raised by the surrounding community, the City of Suffolk, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Our proposed scope of services, schedule, and fee estimate is presented in Attachment A.
This proposal supersedes our previous proposal dated March 1, 2010. The scope has been modified to remove the tracer gas studies, which we understand may be performed at a future time if needed. The scope includes field sampling, monitoring and investigations as to the source of the nuisance odors that have been observed in the surrounding community. It includes observations and monitoring using field instruments, as well as sampling and testing of the raw landfill gas and air quality where complaints have been observed in the surrounding community. The samples collected will be tested for a more extensive list of constituents to coincide when odor complaints are registered. The additional constituents to be tested will include total reduced sulfur compounds, volatile organic compounds, fatty acids, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide.
SCS understands the importance and sensitivity of this odor investigation. We have staff available in our Norfolk office to be responsive to the unique nature of this assignment, which may include quick mobilization of field sampling teams in response to odor complaints.
Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Keith T. Mattesson, PE Robert B. Gardner, PE, BCEE
Project Director Senior Vice President
SCS Engineers SCS Engineers
cc: Bucky Taylor, Executive Director, SPSA
Click here for full proposal. |
|
Yellow pins indicate complaint locations; last updated 3/10/10.
Click here for a closer look at the map. |
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality:
|
|
ABOUT THE CITY OF SUFFOLK
Suffolk is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. By area, it is the largest of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads, and the largest independent city in land-area in the entire Commonwealth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
