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A complaint about unauthorized dumping on private land in Cusseta revealed approximately 10,080 cubic yards of rubbish, which is about three Olympic-sized swimming pools back-to-back, during an inspection from ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management).

The department conducted an initial inspection of the land on County Road 389 on April 11. The ADEM inspector noted the “regulated waste” on the bottom surface and sides of a ravine, including approximately 950 scrap tires.

Regulated waste refers to “any waste that is subject to specific handling, treatment, storage, or disposal requirements under federal, state, or local environmental laws.”

This can include construction or demolition waste, household waste, scrap tires and more.

In their report, the inspector indicated that more waste could be buried under sediment and vegetative debris.

The inspection report states, “the property owners indicated that some of the waste had been in place since 1944, while some of the waste had been placed in the ravine during more recent times.” The current property owners have also added to the waste.

The inspector estimated the surface area of the waste was “540” long, by 72” wide, by 7” deep, on average.”

According to the inspection report, the inspector calculated the amount of waste by estimating the total volume of waste and dividing by 27 and using Google Earth and GPS coordinates gathered during the inspection.

The inspector met with the property owners, Jim Collins Jr. and Jimmy Collins Sr., during the visit, according to the inspection report.

The owners are listed as the responsible party. The complainant is listed as Jason McKay.

In a message to the Valley Times-News, ADEM stated that the responsible party is required to remediate the waste violation:

“The person or persons responsible for creating the illegal unauthorized dump is responsible for its remediation. If the responsible party cannot be determined or will not comply, the property owner could be held responsible for remediating the waste. However, if the property owner were to present evidence showing that they are not the responsible party, the Department would take that information under consideration.”

If the issue is not brought back into compliance, ADEM may fine the responsible party and compel them to clean up the waste on the site.

ADEM has said that at the time of the inspection, no impact was found to surface water, but further investigation will take place. ADEM is currently determining the next step in enforcement.

The property owner was listed as NOCOSEEKAR LLC, which is owned by the Collins family. Part of the land has been permitted by ADEM to be leased to a mining company called Rocky Glades LLC. The surrounding property owners have expressed concern over the potential rock quarry at recent Chambers County Commission meetings.

According to ADEM, further investigation will take place before the impact on the quarry permit is determined.

Collins Jr. declined to comment on the inspection at the time of publishing.