County acts to stop illegal dumping

Bill Robinson
Register News Writer

May 07, 2008 09:23 am

— An excavation contractor learned over the weekend that debris from a demolished building may not be used as fill material without a permit.
County officials were notified Friday of possible illegal dumping near the intersection of Barnes Mill Road and Curtis Pike where the new Tuscany subdivision is under development.
A resident of an adjacent subdivision who works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported the dumping to Shelby Jones, the county’s assistant solid waste coordinator. She referred it to Planning and Building Codes Administrator Duane Curry, who works with developers and contractors.
“State law prohibits demolition debris from being used as fill material,” Curry said. “That always applies to wood, paper and metal. Concrete, bricks and other solid material may be used as fill, but only with a state permit. That’s is called beneficial reuse.”
Curry said the excavator, Greg Davis of D&D Excavation, told him he was planning to sort the material on the ground and then burn the wood.
“He didn’t know he needed to permit to burn the wood or to use the other material as fill,” Curry said. “He should have gotten a permit even before he dumped and sorted the debris.”
Curry said Davis promised to collect the material and take it to a landfill.
“In cases like this, the contractor must submit receipts from an approved landfill to show that the debris has been properly disposed,” Curry said.
The subdivision developer, Roy Switzer, had no knowledge that any dumping had taken place at the site, Curry said.
State officials have been informed of the incident. More information about dumping regulations can be obtained from the Web site: waste.ky.gov.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.