According to City, County and North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources contacts, landfills of less than 2 acres in size need not be registered nor permitted by any governing body in the State of North Carolina. And apparently, unlike permitted and regulated landfills, no one has to be on duty to monitor what gets dumped there.
That's right, you can operate certain types of landfills anywhere you like-- even in residential neighborhoods.
As a matter of fact, just last Wednesday I broke a story about a landfill that was being operated by Lato Holdings LLC, owned by Frank R. Lato of Greensboro and Mem Mang.
According to the Guilford County Register of Deeds, Frank's real name is Francis Robert Lato and operating a landfill in his backyard is almost what he did when he opened a landfill on an empty residential lot across the street from his house under the guise of filling holes for future construction there.
Having worked in the waste industry and witnessed almost everything imaginable be attempted to be dumped with myself and others watching I can only guess what must get dumped when no one is around to say, "No way in hell!"
A copy of the e-mail sent to the Greensboro City Council on April 28 but as you will note below the City of Greensboro was previously aware of the problem.
"LATO HOLDINGS, LLC is using this residential address/property located at 513 Brae Burn Lane as a business site, this company is charging and making money off of other trucking companies such as Davey Tress and to allow them to dump tree chips, branches, derbies and other (so called biodegradable) material from their jobs at different locations within Greensboro/Highpoint at this location, and then LATO HOLDINGS are digging large holes within this property and barring these items, NOT backfilling existing holes they (LATO HOLDINGS, LLC) are actually digging new enormous large holes to be able to bury these items in and then covering them up and has been for months throughout this property with multiple daily large dump truck dumps delivered and dumped daily by Davis tree company and others and requiring them to sign in on log book when they dump with signs also made telling them where to dump, clearly making it a business not just a regular job site doing for a customer, LATO HOLDINGS is making a profit and money by allowing other companies to dump at this address along with storing all their equipment on site as well.
This is a residential neighborhood and this has been going on for months causing a major nuisance for others within this neighborhood with all the mud, trucks driving in and out all the time and parking and noise as well, this use to be a quiet and peaceful neighborhood now full of construction and tree trucks daily and needs to stop! They have turned a community from having a FedEx or ups truck here and there and Garbage truck once a week to multiple dump/tree trucks daily, in-convincing residence, mail delivery and even trash pickup due to truck parking and our right to live peacefully within a residential community. We have made other request for this to be investigated with the city and see that it has been looked at and is deemed ok, how is that possible? LATO HOLDINGS is running a business on residential property, Davey trucks are using site as dump and latterly signing in when they dump, this is not just a job site it’s a business and now we have also joined together as a housing community and this has now been reported to the local new stations as well in hopes someone will finally investigate put an end to this mess within our residential community!!
Once and for all!!"
And here's the e-mail that was sent to City Manager Jim Westmoreland by Hanna Cockburn on April 28:
"Good morning Jim – here’s what we know concerning the property at 513 Brae Burn Lane:
1. The property is within the Greensboro City Limits.
2. On 4/23, Building Inspections staff visited the property and provided the following
information:
They have cleared more than an acre, clear cut. They are burying stumps and logs. Piling up mulch. There is an easement in the back they are covering up, including the telephone junction box. They are filling in an existing gully that looks like storm water run off from millwood school rd. There is no building going on at this site so they are not breaking any of my rules. But, I think they are breaking everyone else's rules.
3. On 4/24, a Zoning Inspector visited the site (CASE ID 201402210), and did not find any activities at that time that would trigger a zoning violation.
I will work with our code enforcement staff today to determine if there is any other information that may be useful to you."
That's right, it's not against City zoning regulations to operate certain types of landfills anywhere in the city limits nor is it a violation of building codes. According to NC DENR, if the landfill is smaller than 2 acres in size no one needs to know it exists. And Guilford County agrees.
If I were a mind to I could pour a lot of toxic waste in a 2 acre hole and I could do it next door to where you live. Then cover it up with brush, stumps and wood chips. Duke Energy could dispose of coal ash that way and no one would know because no one watches landfills less than 2 acres in size. If you depend on a well for your drinking water I could contaminate your well or I could undermine Greensboro's already expensive efforts to comply with Jordan Lake Rules concerning runoff and no one would be the wizer. That is: if the information being passed along to us by Greensboro, Guilford County and NC DENR is true and accurate and not just attempts to cover up for the good ol' boys.
And folks, that isn't the only hole Greensboro wants to keep buried.
