Board approves special-use permit for Ziegler Plumbing resource-recovery facility at Greenmount Parkway

James City County supervisors voted unanimously to approve SUP 240013, allowing Ziegler Plumbing and Sewer Inc. to build a resource recovery facility at 1671 Greenmount Parkway that would process concentrated septage and grease into a compost product.

County staff described the proposal as a resource recovery operation on a 96.36-acre M-2 general industrial parcel inside the county’s primary service area; the applicant intends to develop only 5–7 acres initially. The operation would receive hauled organic wastes (grease trap waste, septic sludge and pump-basin solids), separate liquids and solids, discharge permitted effluent to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) system under an industrial/indirect discharge permit, and compost the dewatered solids with a carbon bulking agent in enclosed aerated static-pile (ASP) buildings to produce a Class A (PFRP-compliant) compost product, the applicant told the board.

Applicant Jessica Lazarus and relatives representing Ziegler explained that rising dump fees and treatment constraints at regional wastewater facilities have increased disposal costs and scheduling challenges for waste-hauling businesses. The company proposed a two-stage process: an enclosed dewatering building with screening and polymer-assisted presses and an enclosed ASP composting building with aeration and biofilter exhaust to reduce odors. Staff-recommended SUP conditions include prohibiting retail sales on the property, requiring vegetative buffers and screening fencing, air filtration and enclosed processing, limits on storage pile size/spacing, and required fire-safety, spill-prevention and restoration plans.

Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval (the commission voted 7–0). During the public hearing the applicant team described odor-control measures — including enclosed buildings, outlet fans, and biofilters — and said most surrounding land is wooded or industrial. Two residents spoke in favor at the Planning Commission stage; concerns raised earlier focused on stormwater outfall and erosion in a ravine to the south. After questions from supervisors about fire risk, pile sizing and biofilter maintenance, a motion to approve passed on a unanimous roll call.

The SUP includes phased development (initial dewatering, equipment storage and one enclosed ASP building; future phased ASP buildings and a potential 30,000-square-foot warehouse that would not require an SUP), requirements that the applicant establish necessary easements before site-plan approval, and conditions to mitigate offsite impacts.