Audit warns NC’s older, unregulated landfills could take 99 years to remediate
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Audit found 534 of 688 older NC landfill sites were not actively monitored.
- The audit cited budget and resource limits and lack of property access for monitoring.
- DEQ agreed to implement audit recommendations and set detailed six-month changes.
An overwhelming majority of North Carolina landfill sites that operated prior to statewide regulations have not been adequately monitored of late, posing potential risks to public health and the environment, according to a new state audit.
The Office of the State Auditor found that, as of June 2025, 534 of 688 landfill sites — or 78% — under a specific Department of Environmental Quality program were not actively monitored. The audit scope covered 2019 to 2025 and included analysis dating back to the program’s start in the late 2000s.
Auditor Dave Boliek’s office cited budgetary and resource constraints, as well as a lack of access to privately owned properties, as reasons for the lack of monitoring. The audit recommends pursuing additional program funding, strengthening oversight and reevaluating site prioritization.
DEQ agreed with the audit’s recommendations and provided detailed changes to be implemented within six months.
In a statement sent to The News & Observer, the agency said it is “committed to using the resources at its disposal to protect people from potential harmful exposure from landfills.”
“As the audit report noted, the funding available to the program falls significantly short of what is needed to address the remaining sites,” DEQ said in its statement. “The report’s $1 billion estimated cost is nearly nine times the Department’s annual budget. We appreciate the audit’s recognition that the program’s work so far represents ‘meaningful progress and a clear public benefit’ amid these resource constraints.”
By one calculation, North Carolina cut 32% of positions within the environmental agency from 2010 to 2024, The N&O previously reported. That’s a greater share of jobs than any other state eliminated from a lead environmental agency, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project.
Program history
The Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program run by DEQ covers any landfill site, public or private, where trash has been disposed of before Jan. 1, 1983, and not afterward. The program does not cover landfills used primarily for disposing industrial solid waste.
The program monitors the sites on a five-year cycle, depending on the site priority ranking, and records groundwater conditions, evaluates contaminants and updates the site’s risk score, according to the audit. The program also creates and implements remedial action plans.
The audit said previous investigations of landfill sites have identified “serious hazards,” included contaminated soil and polluted groundwater. A majority of landfill sites are within 1,000 feet of homes, schools and water wells, which creates “ongoing and largely unknown risks to public health and the environment.”
The landfill program does receive funding from the state solid waste disposal tax, but that funding can support five to six site monitoring sessions per year, according to the audit.
“At that rate, remediation of remaining sites could take approximately 99 years,” the audit found.
Of the 688 landfill sites included in the program, 78% are privately owned. Investigations are generally not able to take place without the landowner’s permission, according to the audit.
“The lack of timely monitoring and remediation has had tangible impacts across the State,” the audit said. “In some cases, public parks were closed after contamination was discovered, exposing communities to health risks and resulting in costly remediation efforts.”
The program was established through state law in 2007 to address non-industrial landfills and dumps that were active prior to environmental regulations that came out in 1983, according to the DEQ. The 2007 legislation also imposed a tax on municipal solid waste and debris from construction and demolition disposed in or out of state.
The sites could have elevated levels of methane gas, as well as medical or hazardous materials. The nearby groundwater, surface water and soil may also be contaminated, “all of which can pose significant risks to public health and the environment.”
Resource, financial constraints
The audit recommends that DEQ prioritize sites based on both their risk factors and statutory obligations, as well as prioritize “cooperative property owners.” It also recommends looking at other options for financial support, such as federal grants or interagency partnerships.
The agency agreed, saying identifying cooperative property owners “will help expedite and complete investigations,” “reducing the total time it takes to complete a landfill site.” The agency said it will also send letters informing owners if they have an unregulated landfill on the property to encourage involvement.
DEQ since last year has worked to engage with property owners who have pre-regulatory landfills on their land, according to the agency.
To better track progress, the agency plans to create new status levels that “reflect greater detail on various conditions present at landfill sites.” The levels allow DEQ to come up with partial solutions as an ongoing process.
The agency added that the municipal waste tax, which is $2 per ton of waste, has not been adjusted for inflation since it was established in 2007. The agency said that over the past eight years, implementing a remedial action plan has increased in price at an annual rate of 17.8%.
DEQ in the audit said it will evaluate drafting “any necessary legislative changes in regard to statutory language or fee changes.”
The agency is part of first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s administration. Republicans control the legislature; Boliek is a first-term Republican.
Plan to address high-risk sites
The audit also recommends that DEQ work to better access high-risk sites, particularly where access has been denied. It instructs the agency to create “clear internal policies” that dictate how to address landfill sites when that access is denied, “including escalation protocols” and “when and how enforcement or emergency authorities should be exercised.”
“Without timely access, even the highest priority sites may remain uninvestigated for years, extending already lengthy timelines, increasing risks to nearby residents and liming the effectiveness of the State’s investment in cleanup activities,” the audit said.
DEQ said for properties intended for public use, if access is denied, measures may have to be escalated to contacting local or state public health authorities, or obtaining an administrative warrant to collect data and determine if there is a risk to public health.
The agency also said it will send letters to all the property owners and keep track of those who refuse access. DEQ will continue to mail information to those owners, but will not take any other action “unless there is an imminent risk determined.”
DEQ will continue evaluating the recommendations and identify where processes in the program can be improved, the agency said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM.
