"Mayor and Members of Council,
Below is a brief summary of the issues raised by Billy Jones over the weekend. Please let me know if you have additional questions regarding this issue.
Simmons Hauling Response
The City has been reviewing its relationship with Simmons Hauling and Services since May, 2014, when information was presented by Billy Jones that raised possible conflicts and concerns. After the initial review, the City was satisfied that its use of the hauling company and the involvement of its employee were not in conflict. Based on the latest allegations offered by Mr. Jones, below is a recap of the City’s review along with feedback offered by NC DENR representatives today (June 23, 2014). Based on the City’s understanding of this issue, NC DENR’s opinion, and the fact that the landfill in question is no longer being used by the water resources department, the City is not considering any additional action at this time.
Overview
The City began hauling to Simmons Hauling and Services in March of 2011, and hauled its last load to Simmons in May of 2013. During that timeframe, approximately $27,000 in payments were paid to Simmons Hauling and Services.
At the time of the hauling activities, Danny Simmons was a heavy equipment operator for the water resources department. His wife was listed as the owner of the hauling service. As a heavy equipment operator, Mr. Simmons sometimes operated dump trucks and hauled materials to landfills. Due to the concern of a conflict of interest involving a City employee involving in operations owned by his wife, the Legal Department was consulted on the issue. Legal advised that it was not a conflict of interest because Mr. Simmons, in the position he held, did not have a role in selecting the companies the City used for hauling, nor in deciding where to take the materials.
In June of 2013, Mr. Simmons was selected for a promotion to a crew coordinator position for water resources, where he would have oversight over what hauling services the City used. At that time, the City discontinued its business with Simmons Hauling and Services because of the conflict of interest.
Today (June 23, 2014), the water resources department contacted Hugh Jernigan with NC DENR to further inquire about the landfill itself. Mr. Jernigan stated the type of landfill the City used via Simmons is classified as “beneficial fill,” and the owner of such a facility is not required to obtain a landfill permit. Mr. Jernigan had already referred the case to Guilford County and two inspectors visited the site and confirmed that the material observed at the site does not require a landfill permit. Mr. Jernigan further stated that he believed the City had done its due diligence in this matter.
This information is being provided to Mr. Jones. The City also responded to Mr. Jones’ public records request in May outlining similar concerns and issues. At that time, the City also contacted NC DENR and was informed that there were no concerns with regard to the type of debris the City had sent to the landfill, and confirmed with Mr. Jones that no conflict of interest was evident.
Please feel free to give me a call if you have additional questions.
Regards,
David
David Parrish
Assistant City Manager
City of Greensboro
336-373-2002
PO Box 3136
Greensboro, NC 27402-3136"
From the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources website:
"Dispose of all wastes at a permitted disposal facility – it’s the law. Improper disposal can be considered a Class 1 felony crime. You must take your waste to the proper disposal facility. To learn where they are located, contact your local solid waste office."
So there you have it, the City of Greensboro is responsible for having committed a Class 1 Felony according to NC DENR. And this in reference to “beneficial fill."
"Inert debris is made up of unpainted concrete, brick, concrete block, uncontaminated soil, rock, and gravel. Inert debris may be used as beneficial fill material so long as no excavation occurs. Beneficial fill improves land use potential when all pertinent laws, rules and regulations are followed."
Did excavation occur? Were all all pertinent laws, rules and regulations followed? Simmons Hauling is not registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State as a legal tax paying entity, what makes you think Danny and Amy would be any more inclined to follow the rest of the rules? I'm being told some of the soil was contaminated with solid waste from Greensboro's sewers. I'm told it included asphalt and metal pipe. And what about that Asbestos that was on those pipes the City of Greensboro dumped into Danny and Amy Simmons' backyard? Er, I mean landfill.
From the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website:
"Landfill Operational Requirements
( 10 N.C.A.C. 10G .0505)
These rules regulate the disposal of asbestos waste in permitted solid waste landfills. Approval of waste to be disposed in North Carolina landfills is regulated by the NC DENR. Division of Solid Waste Management, Solid Waste Section. Final acceptance of the waste is the decision of the local landfill operator who should be contacted directly."
That's right, final acceptance was up to Danny and Amy Simmons but before they were allowed to make that decision they were required by law to have a landfill permit from NC DENR. And as you read above in the e-mail from assistant City Manager David Parrish,
"Mr. Jernigan stated the type of landfill the City used via Simmons is classified as “beneficial fill,” and the owner of such a facility is not required to obtain a landfill permit."
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the State of North Carolina has adopted Federal Guidelines for dealing with asbestos:
"The AHMP Rules adopt the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) relating to asbestos demolition and renovation by reference. These regulations may be found at 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M - National Emission Standard for Asbestos (40 CFR 61-141-157)"
The Federal Guidelines can be found by clicking Federal Guidelines and scrolling down to § 61.145 Standard for demolition and renovation and § 61.154 Standard for active waste disposal sites. As you will note there is no way in Hell Danny Simmons or the City of Greensboro complied with those rules. Is there Mr Parrish?
Had Danny Simmons been trained in landfill operation he would have known these things but Danny Simmons operated a backhoe and drove a dump truck until becoming a supervisor over people with more experience, training and years on the job.
I sent the following reply to the City of Greensboro on Monday in response to the e-mail Mr Parrish sent me:
"So this is all the City of Greensboro intends to do? I guess at least some of you really don't understand the issues involved. A careful reading of the e-mails that were sent to me might enlighten some of you. What might be in that hole other than what was dumped by the City of Greensboro and if future remediation is required who will pay for it? Is anyone familiar with the Deep Pockets Theory as is commonly used in remediation efforts? Which of Danny Simmons' customers stands to have the deepest pockets? If you guessed the City of Greensboro you are correct!
Danny also never listed his business with the NC Secretary of State so chances are there are no records of at least some of his customer transactions-- cash money under the table. How many times have I caught the City of Greensboro doing business with non entities? A dozen or more?
There were also violations of Greensboro employee policy that forbid using one's position to one's economic advantage. It's in the employee manual. Danny Simmons, even as a backhoe operator, opened a landfill with the intent of profiting from his position with the City of Greensboro.
Danny is a bad boss. He even weighs in on matters outside of his jurisdiction causing problems for other employees who do not work for him and uses such things to his advantage.
Did they tell you of the pay increases Danny has received? Much higher than most. And why is he supervising people with more experience, training, qualification and years on City payroll than he has?
Why did Danny's bosses allow this to continue AFTER the legal department advised against it? Was there something in it for them as well? Why else would they put their own jobs at risk if there wasn't something in it for them?
Rank and file employees tell me Danny brags about how much money the landfill earns, rubs their noses in it.
They went over Danny's head expressing concerns and were told it wasn't a problem. Remember: Most of you have never set foot in a waste disposal facility but I have. As a matter of fact; I'm certified by the State of North Carolina and worked with Hugh Jernigan of NC DENR as a Transfer Station Operator. I took my classes with many City of Greensboro employees. (How do you think they knew me?) Your people are among the best trained in the nation-- I envy them. When your drivers drive into a landfill they usually see signs with permit numbers and information about what can be dumped there. They didn't see that at Simmons' Hauling.
Your drivers are also used to seeing landfills that are attended during business hours. As a matter of fact: State and Federal laws require that landfills be attended any time they are open for business to prevent the dumping of hazardous materials. But at Simmons' Hauling there was no attendant-- just an open gate and a drop box where drivers filled out a ticket and dropped it in the box so Danny could bill his customers including but not limited to the City of Greensboro, after he got home from work.
There was Asbestos on some of the pipe dumped by the Water Resources Department. Was that Asbestos Friable? If yes then it is considered hazardous materials. Are you prepared to answer those questions?
Now I ask you, do you believe Hugh Jernigan or those 2 Guilford County inspectors have X-ray vision? Can they look through the earth to see what is buried underneath? 'Cause I don't think they have any idea what might be leaching out of that landfill and into nearby wells. And having witnessed people attempting to dump everything from waste oil to hospital waste to radioactive junk with me standing there shouting at them, "No way in hell!" I can only guess what they might dump when no one is there to stop them.
The problem is the good ol' boy system is crushing the rank and file who are better trained and better motivated to do the right thing. So out of pure frustration they seek out someone like me.
Enjoy the free publicity... Or stop the attempts at PR and talk about what we must do to SOLVE the problems at hand. Your call. Keep me posted.
-Billy"
As of this posting no one from the City of Greensboro has replied to my last e-mail. As you can see, I knew more than I was telling them. I always do. I guess I'll be contacting the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to talk about violations of § 61.145 Standard for demolition and renovation and § 61.154 Standard for active waste disposal sites. This could get very ugly for the City of Greensboro.
You see folks, while I'll go into more detail later, the “beneficial fill" loophole that Assistant City Manager David Parrish is crediting to Hugh Jernigan of NC DENR simply doesn't apply.
As you can also see, the City opted for the free publicity over solving the problems. And there's more I've yet to share including several lies told by Mr Parrish above. In the interest of fairness I'm e-mailing this post and Part 1 to the City of Greensboro and to Hugh Jernigan of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources-- Western Division-- so that they might clarify before I post Greensboro's Illegal Landfills: Part 3 on Friday.
