{"id":6555,"date":"2026-07-20T18:06:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6555"},"modified":"2026-07-20T18:06:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:06:47","slug":"nearly-80-of-former-landfills-in-nc-were-never-properly-investigated-wake-county-has-riskiest-site-auditor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6555","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 80% of former landfills in NC were never properly investigated; Wake County has riskiest site: Auditor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) \u2014 Nearly 80% of former landfill sites in North Carolina have never been properly investigated, the state auditor\u2019s office found.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6553\">Sky working through some issues as WNBA All-Star Game returns to Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor, landfills in the state accepted a wide range of waste before 1983 when modern environmental regulations weren\u2019t in effect. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Protection created the Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program in 2007 to identify, assess, and remediate these sites.<\/p>\n<p>In a report released on July 13, the auditor\u2019s office found that 534 of the 688 identified sites, about 78%, have never been investigated under the program. As a result, state officials do not know if these former landfills are contaminated, if contamination has spread to nearby properties or water supplies, or if nearby residents are at risk.<\/p>\n<p>The auditor\u2019s office said more than 80% of the landfill sites are within 1,000 feet of areas considered vulnerable, including homes, schools, daycares, churches, or drinking water wells.<\/p>\n<p>NCDEQ records show the site with the highest risk is the East Wake County Landfill in Knightdale as of April 2025.<\/p>\n<p>As of April 2025, according to NCDEQ records, the Rocky Knoll School Site in Durham is the third-riskiest, the Nash County Landfill (Red Oak Landfill) in Red Oak is the sixth-riskiest, the Tarboro Landfill in Tarboro is the seventh-riskiest, the City of Wilson Landfill in Wilson is the eighth-riskiest, and the Southern Pines Dump in Southern Pines is the 11th-riskiest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program is a complex issue that creates challenges from a regulatory, legal, funding, and administrative standpoint,\u201d North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek said in a statement. \u201cBut the bottom line is there are hundreds of potentially hazardous landfill sites across North Carolina, and despite tax dollars supporting a program meant to investigate these sites, 78% haven\u2019t been examined.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis audit lays out the facts, giving taxpayers a reliable update on a longstanding government issue,\u201d Boliek continued in his statement.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6551\">Durham Public Schools focuses on attendance for 2026-27 academic year<\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to the auditor\u2019s office, the average cost to investigate, assess, and remediate a former landfill is about $1.9 million. The total cost for the remaining sites approaches $1 million.<\/p>\n<p>The NCDEQ has secured 370 acres of waste, sampled 1,642 water supply wells, and provided alternate water supply to 30 homes among the 97 sites that have been investigation since the program was created, according to the auditor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>In the report, the auditor\u2019s office recommended the NCDEQU address resource constraints and strengthen its ability to obtain access to high-risk sites.<\/p>\n<p>According to the report, about 78% of the former landfills are privately owned, including the East Wake County Landfill, and NCDEQ cannot investigate them without permission from the owner. The East Wake County Landfill cannot be investigated until the property owners clear debris from the site, but the owners rely on rental income from tenants on the property and cannot afford to evict them.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>MORE FROM CBS 17<\/h2>\n<section>\n<h2>\n<p>\t\tDURHAM COUNTY NEWS<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<div>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tNearly 80% of former NC landfills never investigated: Auditor<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tDurham year-round students return to school<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tLightning strike sparks Durham house fire, officials say<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The auditor\u2019s office recommended the NCDEQ clarify and strengthen its legal authority to access privately owned sites when an investigation is warranted. The NCDEQ was also advised to develop internal policies for using that authority.<\/p>\n<p>In its response, the NCDEQ agreed to the recommendations from the auditor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe appreciate [the auditor\u2019s office] taking the time to understand how the program functions, for visiting multiple pre-regulatory landfill sites, and providing the recommendations,\u201d the NCDEQ said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6549\">Police seek suspects in a break-in at Eagles\u2019 running back Saquon Barkley\u2019s home in Pennsylvania<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly 80% of former landfill sites in North Carolina have never been properly investigated, the state auditor&#8217;s office found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nearly 80% of former landfills in NC were never properly investigated; 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