Citizens' Investigation

 

 

If local citizens suspect that out-of-state solid waste is being deposited into the Dunmore facility, they do not have to rely on rumors. Because solid waste management is heavily regulated by both county and state entities, a clear paper trail is generated for every ton of trash buried in West Virginia.

Pocahontas County citizens can use three primary, legally backed methods to verify exactly where the landfill's waste is originating.

1. Request the Landfill’s Monthly Tonnage Reports

Under West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) rules, every operating landfill must track, log, and report its tonnage. The WVDEP Division of Water and Waste Management reviews monthly tonnage reports submitted by permittees to ensure compliance with county cell allocations and state laws.

These logs record the weight, type, and source of incoming waste. If commercial haulers are bringing in out-of-state waste, it must legally be reflected in these manifests.

How to get them:

• The Local Approach: Citizens have the right to attend the monthly meetings of the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority (PCSWA). You can directly request to inspect the recent monthly tonnage and assessment fee reports submitted by the landfill operator.

• The State Approach: You can submit a formal West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the WVDEP.

What to ask for in a FOIA request:

"Pursuant to W. Va. Code § 29B-1-1 et seq., I am requesting copies of all monthly tonnage reports, daily weight logs, and origin-of-waste manifests filed for the Pocahontas County Landfill (Dunmore facility) for the period of [insert date range, e.g., January 2026 to present]."

You can submit this request online via the WVDEP Data Center or via email at depfoia@wv.gov. By law, the agency must respond within 5 business days (excluding weekends and holidays).

2. Inspect Commercial Hauler Tariffs and Certificates via the PSC

In West Virginia, commercial trash haulers are not entirely private actors; they are utilities regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC). Haulers operate under strict geographic certificates that dictate exactly where they are permitted to collect trash and where they are authorized to dump it.

If a local commercial hauler is crossing state lines into Highland County, picking up municipal solid waste, and bringing it back across the border into the Dunmore landfill, their PSC certificate, route logs, and tariff filings must legally allow and document this cross-border activity.

How to verify:

• Go to the WV Public Service Commission electronic filing system.

• Search the case files and current certificates for the active commercial waste haulers operating in Pocahontas County (such as Allegheny Disposal / Jacob Meck).

• Look for any recent petitions to modify routes, expand territory into Virginia, or alter disposal site designations. If a hauler is mixing out-of-state waste into local residential routes without PSC approval, it constitutes a major regulatory violation.

3. Review the WV Solid Waste Management Board (WVSWMB) Audits

The West Virginia Solid Waste Management Board tracks the financial health and intake metrics of all county solid waste authorities. Because landfills charge "tipping fees" per ton, out-of-state waste represents an influx of revenue that must be reconciled against local assessment fees.

• The WVSWMB regularly publishes detailed assessment fee and tonnage data reviews in their board meeting minutes.

• Citizens can cross-reference the total monthly assessment fee revenue of the PCSWA against known local county population baselines. A sudden spike in tonnage or assessment revenue that cannot be explained by local county growth or seasonal tourism is an immediate red flag that indicates waste is being imported from outside the county's borders.

Summary Action Plan for Citizens

Step	Action	What it Reveals
1. Attend PCSWA Meetings	Ask for the monthly operational and tonnage printouts at the Marlinton office.	Immediate, local overview of reported trash volumes.
2. File a WVDEP FOIA	Submit a request to depfoia@wv.gov for daily origin-of-waste manifests.	The exact legal paper trail showing where the trucks originated.
3. Check PSC Filings	Search the WV PSC database for the haulers' certified collection boundaries.	Whether the local haulers even have the legal authority to transport Virginia waste into WV.