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Wildlife thrives at landfill King George landfill has an unexpected feature: wildlife Date published: 11/28/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN A large swath of land in King George County is home to bald eagles, turkeys, hawks, geese, songbirds, honeybees, deer, wildflowers, small mammals and amphibians. It's not a wildlife preserve. It's a landfill. The animals and plants share their home with the region's largest solid waste disposal site, operated by Waste Management Inc. The company set aside more than 200 acres under an environmental stewardship program that began in 1996 and has grown over the years. Waste Management last week received "Wildlife at Work" certifications from the Wildlife Habitat Council for its King George site and 23 other locations across the country. The nonprofit council encourages habitat development on private, public and corporate land. "It's a natural fit," said Michael Thomas, area engineer of the landfill located on the western end of King George near the Birchwood power plant. Landfills typically have large buffer areas--fields, wetlands and forest--supporting a diverse wildlife population. This one has wetlands, ponds, honeybee hives and nesting areas for geese. Wood duck boxes will be installed near one of the ponds next month. Brush piles scattered around the property create shelter for small animals. One day this week, several bald eagles perched in trees near one of the ponds. The birds scavenge for garbage and occasionally pick off one of the many seagulls that also frequent the site. A wildflower meadow carpets 10 acres of what resembles a terraced hillside. It's a portion of the landfill cap. Purple martin houses will be added next year and two pollinator gardens are planned. The habitat plan also includes control of invasive species such as Japanese honeysuckle. The landfill attracts many birds. The local Audubon Society chapter conducts an annual Christmas bird count there. "We're an environmental company and we're trying to do what's right with the waste people are producing," Thomas said. That includes managing the land for appropriate other uses. He noted that a waste-to-energy plant is under construction. Methane gas produced by decomposing trash and now flared off at the site will power generators to produce electricity. That plant should be online by next spring. Landfill gas, which smells like rotten eggs, has been an issue for some landfill neighbors. Waste Management spokeswoman Lisa Kardell said the company aims to earn Wildlife Habitat Council certification for 100 sites and 25,000 acres by 2020. To date, the company has set aside about 24,000 acres. Waste Management has more WHC-certified sites than any other firm. Of those 73 locations, 14 have received Corporate Lands for Learning certification. Those are used for habitat-education programs. Thomas said an educational component will be among the next additions in King George. Students and community groups could visit the habitat areas. Based in Houston, Waste Management and its subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery and disposal services. It is also builds and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas sites. Waste Management, wm.com Wildlife Habitat Council, wildlife hc.org Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Date published: 11/28/2009
As a neighbor to the landfill I read the permit application parts A
and B carefully. KG and the state watches the landfill very
carefully using monitoring wells to detect leakage of leachate and
methane gas from the triple lined landfill foundation. So far the
ground water surrounding the landfill is the same as it was in 1996
when the wells were drilled and the data base established. This
determination is made from water samples tested by the state of
Virginia every 4 months.
The power plant next door is a wildlife refuge over 500 acers.
Eagles, ospreys, hawks, deer, beavers, ducks, geese,
hummingbirds, etc., What do you expect? It's a food supply,
they go next door to eat.
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