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West Virginia

Pollution Prevention and Open Dump Program

Agency West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

West Virginia Pollution Prevention and Open Dump Program

The Pollution Prevention and Open Dump Program (PPOD) of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) cleans up illegal open dumps. WVDEP says the open dump cleanup work uses landfill fees to clean up the dumps and to gather evidence to prosecute illegal dumping. The program's authority is W. Va. Code § 22-15-11(h)(3), which WVDEP quotes as saying that no one may "create, contribute to or operate an open dump."

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name open dump cleanup projects among its standard record sources. Its landfill and solid waste disposal site type is paired in this handbook with the Solid Waste Program and the Landfill Closure Assistance Program. A PPOD project is a different thing: an illegal dump the state cleaned up. Five details shape how to use the record.

  • The map includes the dumps that were cleaned. WVDEP says its PPOD mapper maps open dump sites and includes statistics on the sites the program has cleaned. A cleanup project on or beside a property says waste was dumped there and removed.
  • The estimate of open dumps is dated 2010. In text marked "last updated on 09/30/10", WVDEP estimated that there were 15,000 open dumps across the state and said the program removed up to 900 a year. Do not read an empty map as proof that a rural tract has no dump. Walk it.
  • The page gives two counts. The same 2010 text says the program had completed more than 15,000 projects. The mapper's description, which carries no date, says it includes statistics on all 3,500+ sites cleaned by the program. The page does not say how the two figures relate, so cite whichever you use with its source.
  • Some dumped waste is hazardous. WVDEP warns that producers of methamphetamine often use rural and roadside areas as dump sites for their toxic chemicals and byproduct, and links a list of chemicals and materials that may indicate that waste.
  • Dumping carries penalties. WVDEP gives the criminal penalties as a fine of up to $50,000 and up to three years in prison, and the civil penalty as up to $5,000 per incident.

The 2010 text also says what the cleanups had removed: an estimated 147,000 tons of material, including 26,000 tons of steel, 62,000 appliances and over 2,000,000 tires.

Where to look a site up

Getting the file

The program's page names no records route. WVDEP says most of the records it keeps are subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; the request goes through the electronic form on its Request Information page or by email to depfoia@wv.gov. See the Application Enhancer page.

Sources

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown:

Maintained by Barrow. General reference only, not legal or professional advice. Barrow is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. See how Barrow drafts the report