North Carolina has identified 20 former landfill sites in Burke and Caldwell counties for potential contamination investigations. Three rank among the state’s 100 highest-priority sites in 2026, down from five in 2025.
Established in 2007, the state’s Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program investigates and cleans up sites that accepted waste before 1983, when modern landfill regulations took effect.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assigns priority scores based on the number of homes, schools, daycares, churches, and drinking-water wells within 1,000 feet of the estimated boundaries of former landfills — not on contamination indications.
“A site’s ranking does not indicate that contamination has been confirmed,” Lucas reiterated. “The ranking is based on the potential for exposure.”
A 2025 state audit identified 688 former landfill sites statewide, with 84% located near potentially vulnerable areas. As of June 30, 2025, 534 had never been investigated, and 78% were privately owned. Investigations and cleanup take an average of 7.5 years per site.
BURKE AND CALDWELL THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR:
- Dysartsville Dump: Active investigation; waste boundaries still being determined; one of the top 100 that carried over from last year.
- Dudley Shoals Landfill 2: Investigation awaiting property access agreements; one of top 100 that carried over.
- Walsh Refuse Dump: Significant increase in ranking; DEQ has not explained why.
- Henry River Community Dump: Dropped from No. 18 to No. 346; access permission withdrawn; DEQ has not explained the shift.
- Valdese Refuse Dump: Dropped from No. 70 to No. 267; investigation not started.
WHAT CAN LOCAL COUNTIES DO?
According to Burke, DEQ is governing the landfills, so they have no part in investigation or remediation. Burke officials said they’ve received no direction from the DEQ, but that they are willing to help if requested.
“Nobody’s come into the health department,” said Burke PIO Chris White. “No complaints or reports from residents that live near the sites that we are aware of. If they went to DEQ, they have not notified us.”
Burke already monitors sites that don’t fall under PRLF jurisdiction, conducting groundwater sampling and landfill gas monitoring at those locations.
Lucas said the PRLF mailed letters to property owners within 1,000 feet of pre-regulatory landfills, offering free private well sampling. Residents who received letters can contact the PRLF program for information about free sampling.
For those who didn’t receive a letter, Burke officials said there is a $150 cost involved with county-conducted water sampling, but residents can make the requests at the Environmental Health office at 110 N. Green St., Morganton.
Caldwell officials echoed the sentiment, saying they hadn’t tested any wells knowingly associated with the PRLF, but that the process gets even murkier before July 2008.
According to Tim Clark, the environmental health onsite supervisor at the Caldwell Health Department, North Carolina changed well construction rules around that time, and the DEQ kept all the historical records before that point.
“Because local health departments didn’t start keeping well construction records until 2008,” Clark said, “we aren’t even aware of older wells around these landfills unless the property owner alerts us or requests testing.”
A map of PRLF sites can be found at deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/superfund-section/inactive-hazardous-sites-program/pre-regulatory-landfill-program/pre-regulatory-landfills-map.
FUTURE OF THE LANDFILLS
With the investigations being conducted at the state level, the auditor estimated it would take about 99 years to investigate and address all of the remaining sites across North Carolina.
The audit also states it takes approximately $1.9 million to investigate and remediate a site beginning to end.
“Should the cost be applied across the remaining 534 unmonitored sites, full remediation would approach $1 billion,” State Auditor Dave Boliek.
That’s billion with a “B” and nearly 100 years.
Although the auditor recommended that DEQ reconsider resource constraints and strengthen legal capabilities to pursue investigation at sites, there have been no changes in funding or timelines from DEQ’s leadership as of late September, according to Lucas.
