Campbell County committed to cleaning up groundwater

One week after the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a $9 million judgment against Campbell County in a contamination lawsuit, officials said they remain committed to removing the leachate that got into the groundwater on Claude and Virginia Royals’ Rustburg property.

“We said from the beginning there was no question that the leachate was from the landfill,” said Campbell County Administrator David Laurrell. “We’ll continue to move forward until we completely take care of it.”

In 2002, the Royals discovered their well water had been contaminated by the neighboring landfill and for the last 10 years the county has been working to remove the chemicals.

Recent water samples show remediation is working, Laurrell said.

The Royals continue to use the well water on their property, avoiding the contaminated wells. They also have access to county water if they wish to connect to it.

Several times each year, Campbell County tests water from 51 sites on the landfill and the Royals’ property. The tests look for more than 200 different chemicals. Of the 3,800 recent test results, only 23 showed elements in the water at levels higher than allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s groundwater protection standards, said Clif Tweedy, deputy county administrator.

Tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene are two of the chemicals that continue to exist in the groundwater at amounts exceeding EPA standards. Tetrachloroethene, or PCE, is a synthetic liquid commonly used in the textile industry and in dry cleaning as a metal degreaser. It is considered a potential human carcinogen and consuming water with elevated levels over the course of a lifetime may increase cancer risk.

Under certain conditions, PCE in groundwater can degrade into trichloroethene, or TCE, and vinylchloride, which are more toxic.

Two of the 51 water sites tested have elevated TCE levels of 7 parts per billion. The maximum allowable by the government is 5 ppb.

When water treatment began in 2002, TCE was 136 parts per billion.

One site tested had an elevated PCE level of 8.3 parts per billion. As with TCE, the maximum allowable level is 5 ppb.

In 2001, TCE levels were as high as 29.8 on the site.

PCE and TCE — and benzene, vinylchloride and methylenechloride — are chemicals commonly found in landfills or in nearby leaks, said Tweedy.

At the Rustburg landfill, water testing shows the levels of benzene, vinylchloride and methylenechloride are so low they cannot be detected at most sites and where it does exist, it is well below the government requirements.

“I think the remediation is going much quicker than we originally thought,” said Laurrell, adding some of the Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, have dropped by 95 percent.

“That’s just a remarkable improvement in a short amount of time,” he said.

In 2003, 95 percent of the wells tested showed contamination above allowable levels. Today, eight years later with an even greater number of wells in place, just .5 percent are above the standard.

The entire remediation system has been fully operational for two years.

The landfill received gas vents in 2002, a gas extraction system in 2003 and the first of several series of groundwater remediation wells in 2005.

Although the Supreme Court decision on Jan. 13 closed the case for the county, the Royals have until Jan. 23 to request a rehearing with the Supreme Court.

The Royals’ attorney has not revealed if the couple will pursue one.