The

cat is out of the bag.

More

precisely, the chemicals are out of the landfill.

But

recent testing that shows seepage of volatile

organic compounds from the defunct Fayette County

landfill on First Manassas Mile Road is no cause

for alarm, said county engineer Kirk Houser, who

is overseeing the testing.

Minute

amounts of chemicals, most of them involved in

household cleaning, have reached the ground water

under the landfill, and have now been found in

ground water just beyond the borders of the

landfill, Houser said.

But,

"Nobody is drinking this water," he

said. None of the homes in the area get their

drinking water from wells, he said, though one

homeowner was using a well to irrigate his

landscape. "We advised him that probably

wasn't a good thing to do and he has stopped

using it," said Houser.

"Most

[of the chemicals detected] are just above the

detection limits." And the problem hasn't

progressed very far beyond he borders of the

landfill, he added.

Contamination

has been found in a wooded area between the

landfill and several homes on Briar Lane in

Hunters Glen subdivision, but has not progressed

to the homes, Houser said. A creek running behind

the homes has been tested and found clean, he

said, adding that the areas around Fayetteville's

water treatment plant nearby also have tested

negative for any contamination.

The

bad news is that cleaning up the problem is going

to be expensive. How expensive? Houser couldn't

say at this point. "It's hard to clean up.

It'll take a long time, and when you're talking

about parts per million, you don't get much bang

for the buck," he said.

Consultants

have finished testing properties to the south and

southeast of the landfill, but test results

haven't been gathered yet from the eastern

borders of the landfill.

Testing

to the north, northeast and northwest is not

necessary, Houser said, because test wells on the

landfill property show no migration of chemicals

in that direction. The testing to the south, east

and southeast came about because wells on that

side of the landfill did show migration, he

added.

Lack

of a problem to the northeast is good news. Two

schools - Spring Hill Elementary and Fayette

Middle School, are situated not far from the

landfill in that direction, but Houser said none

of the testing has shown any danger of

contamination near the schools.

Once

results are in from the east, the county will put

together a plan of corrective measures, which has

to be approved by the state Environmental

Protection Division. The plan also will be

presented to the public in a series of hearings.

The

county will have to clean up the contamination,

restoring the ground water to the quality

required of drinking water, and will have to put

in place measures designed to prevent any future

seepage, Houser said.

Contamination

was found at two homes, and the county is

negotiating to buy those. The homes are on a cul

de sac at the end of Morning Dove Drive in the

Quail Hollow subdivision, and the purchase is a

precaution, said Houser.

Residents

of the area have expressed concern about the

possibility of methane gas seeping out and

causing problems, but Houser said those problems

seem to be under control.

"We

have separate monitors for methane," he

said, "and an active methane extraction

system in place." The extraction hasn't been

entirely successful, he said, but the only places

methane has been discovered outside the landfill

are at an old auto repair building and in the

county's waste transfer station across the road.

Four

years of testing in surrounding neighborhoods has

revealed no problems, he said.

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