By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

The cat is out of the bag.

More precisely, the chemicals are out of the landfill.

But recent testing that shows seepage of volatile organic compounds from the defunct Fayette County landfill on First Manassas Mile Road is no cause for alarm, said county engineer Kirk Houser, who is overseeing the testing.

Minute amounts of chemicals, most of them involved in household cleaning, have reached the ground water under the landfill, and have now been found in ground water just beyond the borders of the landfill, Houser said.

But, “Nobody is drinking this water,” he said. None of the homes in the area get their drinking water from wells, he said, though one homeowner was using a well to irrigate his landscape. “We advised him that probably wasn't a good thing to do and he has stopped using it,” said Houser.

“Most [of the chemicals detected] are just above the detection limits.” And the problem hasn't progressed very far beyond he borders of the landfill, he added.

Contamination has been found in a wooded area between the landfill and several homes on Briar Lane in Hunters Glen subdivision, but has not progressed to the homes, Houser said. A creek running behind the homes has been tested and found clean, he said, adding that the areas around Fayetteville's water treatment plant nearby also have tested negative for any contamination.

The bad news is that cleaning up the problem is going to be expensive. How expensive? Houser couldn't say at this point. “It's hard to clean up. It'll take a long time, and when you're talking about parts per million, you don't get much bang for the buck,” he said.

Consultants have finished testing properties to the south and southeast of the landfill, but test results haven't been gathered yet from the eastern borders of the landfill.

Testing to the north, northeast and northwest is not necessary, Houser said, because test wells on the landfill property show no migration of chemicals in that direction. The testing to the south, east and southeast came about because wells on that side of the landfill did show migration, he added.

Lack of a problem to the northeast is good news. Two schools — Spring Hill Elementary and Fayette Middle School, are situated not far from the landfill in that direction, but Houser said none of the testing has shown any danger of contamination near the schools.

Once results are in from the east, the county will put together a plan of corrective measures, which has to be approved by the state Environmental Protection Division. The plan also will be presented to the public in a series of hearings.

The county will have to clean up the contamination, restoring the ground water to the quality required of drinking water, and will have to put in place measures designed to prevent any future seepage, Houser said.

Contamination was found at two homes, and the county is negotiating to buy those. The homes are on a cul de sac at the end of Morning Dove Drive in the Quail Hollow subdivision, and the purchase is a precaution, said Houser.

Residents of the area have expressed concern about the possibility of methane gas seeping out and causing problems, but Houser said those problems seem to be under control.

“We have separate monitors for methane,” he said, “and an active methane extraction system in place.” The extraction hasn't been entirely successful, he said, but the only places methane has been discovered outside the landfill are at an old auto repair building and in the county's waste transfer station across the road.

Four years of testing in surrounding neighborhoods has revealed no problems, he said.