To the editor I am writing regarding the proposed

To the editor

I am writing regarding the proposed landfill site on Route 621. Since a sanitary landfill will have serious and long lasting impact on the ecology of Rappahannock County and on the lifestyle of its citizens, I am curious to know how much planning went into the decision to acquire a landfill and what changes such a landfill would make to our present trash disposal system.

Were other options explored, such as upgrading the present WoodviUe site to meet State requirements; contacting adjacent counties to lease landfill space; joining with neighboring communities to study the feasibility of using available technology to turn waste into energy, thereby eliminating the need for landfills entirely. Were any cost analyses made as to the price of buying 188 acres of prime real estate, condemning access rights into it, fighting lawsuits from irate landowners, upgrading the site to meet state standanls and maintaining same versus the cost of alternate disposal methods or sites? In a county that is fast losing substantial portions of its tax revenues to newly-formed agricultural and forestal districts, is it wise to devalue a community that currently provides a major source of tax income? Where will the money come from for such a large-scale project, when we already have difficulty funding smaller and equally important projects? Are the people of Rappahannock County prepared for a major tax increase to ftind such a project?

Assuming that after all the above options have been frilly explored and a decision is made to place a sanitary landfill in the County, what is the master plan for trash disposal? Will the present dumpster sites remain in place and the landfill be limited to dumpster trucks only, or will the dumpsters be removed and the landfill open to all? If there are no dumpster sites, will people be willing to haul trash long distances to a landfill? For instance, people living in Chester Gap face a round trip of over 80 miles to the pro