Tazewell supervisors approve $600,000 supplement and ratify landfill diversion amid storm damages

The Tazewell County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 5 approved a supplemental FY2025 appropriation to cash‑flow costs related to storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene and took a series of ratifications intended to keep municipal waste flowing while a damaged landfill cell is repaired.

County staff presented damage estimates that included roughly $10.6 million in private losses reported countywide and about $71,000 in county building damages. A critical operational issue for the county’s solid‑waste program was a ripped synthetic liner covering about 1.5 acres of a new landfill sale, which delayed completion and required diversion of municipal and commercial waste.

Under staff recommendations, the board approved a supplemental appropriation that the administrator amended on the floor to request $300,000 from the county’s reserve fund and $300,000 from contingency to cash‑flow immediate storm‑related costs. The administrator said much of the expense is expected to be reimbursable by FEMA (staff estimated FEMA would cover roughly 75% of eligible costs) and by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (about 10%), but that reimbursements could take up to two years.

Because the active cell was not available, the county has diverted some waste to Mercer County. Staff asked the board to ratify two $50,000 deposits — one sent in October and a second in November — to Mercer County Landfill to secure disposal capacity; the board voted to ratify those payments and the diversion action.

The county reported about $282,000 in leachate‑treatment and transport costs for the storm event; staff said FEMA has reimbursed similar leachate costs in prior events and indicated leachate treatment should be eligible at 75%. To reduce future costs, staff recommended investments including a second leachate tank and a $48,000–$50,000 stormwater pump for the landfill sale.

To accelerate reopening, the board authorized the county administrator to request expedited Department of Environmental Quality review of permit modifications for the split sale and to request expedited permit modification approval; supervisors also ratified emergency procurement actions taken under the state of emergency, including AEP work to reestablish a power line and a temporary lease of the boardroom to FEMA.

Board members discussed alternatives for financing the short‑term cash flow — including using the school facilities fund — and instructed staff to track reimbursements and replenish reserve balances when FEMA and state funds arrive. The board voted to extend the county’s state of emergency to Dec. 3, 2024, to preserve FEMA/VDM eligibility windows.

What passed: the FY25 supplemental appropriation (as amended), ratification of Mercer County payments and diversion actions, authorization to seek expedited DEQ review, and multiple emergency ratifications to restore utilities and lease space to FEMA. Staff emphasized that while most costs are expected to be reimbursed, the timing could be months to years and the county must cash‑flow the work in the interim.