Contact Elected Officials

Sample Letter for Officials

**Sample Letter to be used as a guide. When you write, use your own words.

This is simply a guide to reference. *** 

You can send your letter via e-mail – see list of addresses in the button above. 

(Department Name)

(Name of person you are writing the letter)

(Address)

(City, State and Zip)

 

Dear (fill in information)

My name is _________ and I am a resident of __________ County. I am writing you in reference to a proposed mega landfill that Cumberland County’s Board of Supervisors approved on August 2, 2018 and amended in July 2019.  I have serious concerns regarding this proposed landfill and wanted to write you directly to express myself.

I have lived in _____ County for ___ number of years…. (tell them about yourself and how/why this proposed landfill impacts your life personally, and the reasons why you are against the landfill)…

In additional to my personal story, some of my factual concerns are … (list some factual issues here and feel free to use any of the areas of impact listed below, check our website/facebook page for some other information, and  write your own).

DANGERS OF MEGA-LANDFILL TO ALL VIRGINIANS

Environmental Justice

  1. Areas selected are typically poorer and undeveloped.

  2. Adjacent residents in such areas are dependent on private wells for water supply and have no reasonable options if their wells are contaminated.

  3. Historical factors, such as family graves, war sites, cultural factors, and community values must be properly considered.

  4. Environmental Impact Study must be conducted for any proposed landfill.

Water Concerns

  1. Contamination of waterways beyond the immediate mega-landfill site is likely.

  2. Recent government reports concluded that all landfills will likely fail to contain pollutants and that wells in areas such as Cumberland adjacent to landfills will be contaminated.

  3. Private wells are not protected from landfill contamination under current regulations, yet roughly 80 percent of Virginia residents are dependent on well water.

  4. Wetlands, which act as riparian buffers to pollutants entering the waterways, will be adversely affected, and some will be filled.

  5. Landfills should not be located in a zone of known seismic activity.

  6. A thorough Floodplain Study must be undertaken before an application is approved.

Safety and Reciprocity Issues

  1. No landfill should be considered on a two-lane roadway.

  2. Any consideration of a proposed landfill within two miles of a neighboring jurisdiction must get concurrence from that jurisdiction where it can show that it will experience certain adverse impacts.

  3. VDOT Traffic Impact Study must be conducted for a proposed landfill.

  4. Technology used for construction of landfills within Virginia is obsolete and has not been reviewed or updated in over 20 years.

In summary, (use this section to sum up the reasons why you are against the landfill)…the location of this landfill is a poor choice. Cumberland County is a rural community where most residents get their drinking water from relatively shallow wells and where many homes are mere hundreds of feet from the landfill site. (etc…..)

Please help me (or us, or my family, etc.) by working within your power and position to stop this proposed mega landfill as the ramifications are irreversible….(this is the plea for help, asking them to act on your behalf).

Thank you for your time …(thank them for taking their time to read your letter, acting on your behalf. You can also leave your contact information if you want them to reach out to you, if you want them to.)

Sincerely,

(Your name and signature here)