The county’s proposed budget calls for hiring an on-site liaison at the Container First Services-managed landfill.

The announcement was made at the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors Thursday, April 14, and followed renewed complaints from residents who live near the landfill about the smell, uncovered trash and calls for closer supervision of the operation by the county.

“I think one of the most important jobs in the county is somebody to be out there watching them,” Bob Foley told the board. “This is a very important job somebody needs to be doing — full time. We need somebody out there finding out what is going into our landfill.”

The proposed budget would allocate $30,000 for a 29-hour or less position that would be on-site at the landfill, county officials said. Currently, the duties of Director of Community Development Beverley P. Hawthorne include being part-time liaison.

The residents initially brought their complaints to the board last month.

At the time, Foley, of Courthouse Road, produced a jar containing a black substance and said it is leachate from the landfill that could be making its way to the Meherrin River.

Foley added that exposed trash attracts seagulls that cover his yard.

Based in Petersburg, CFS is a full-scale industrial, commercial, and residential waste and recycling operation that includes among its holdings CFS Disposal and Recycling Services of Lunenburg.

John Light, of Old Mansion Road, said the trucks hauling trash also drive “very fast” and come and go late into the light. Light and his neighbor Jeff Burgess said debris flies from the vehicles — and Burgess noted that once the smell was so strong it nearly made him noxious.

However, Tim Webb, an official with CFS, told the board that “we are within the regulations.” He added that the company takes “pride in what we do out there,” and works “very closely with the county.”

In March, Supervisor Alvester Edmonds suggested the board possibly hire a part-time landfill liaison to monitor activities at the landfill. Chairman David Wingold said it was something the budget committee could look into, and maybe come up with something as the new budget is developed.

Bill Hayden, public affairs office with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said the landfill is inspected after each complaint, and is on a monthly inspection schedule.

There have been complaints about the landfill to DEQ that prompted follow up inspections, and there have been two consent orders about the landfill in the last two years for operational deficiencies, Hayden said.