OAK HALL, Va. - Texas-based waste management company Vaulted Deep has withdrawn a zoning appeal that could have paved the way for the company to store poultry waste thousands of feet beneath the surface of Accomack County, bringing the proposed project to an apparent end in Oak Hall.
Vaulted Deep was originally seeking to bring the subterranean waste disposal system to a property in Oak Hall, arguing it would be beneficial in processing and storing Accomack County’s excess poultry manure. The technology is currently used in Los Angeles and Hutchinson, Kansas, according to Vaulted Deep.
The company faced the initial barrier of Accomack County having no applicable zoning laws that would allow the project, leading to it being initially rejected. Vaulted Deep then filed an appeal to Accomack County Planning and Zoning. A hearing on the appeal was scheduled for early March.
Meanwhile, some neighbors in Accomack County pushed back on the proposal, voicing their concerns over potential contamination of groundwater despite Vaulted Deep’s assurances that groundwater protection was a main priority. The Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committee shared many of the concerns, and ultimately voted to recommend state and county leaders not approve the project.
Virginia Delegate Rob Bloxom also said his team was drafting legislation to ban drilling projects like Vaulted Deep’s from groundwater protection areas not only in Accomack, but across the Commonwealth.
On Jan. 23, an attorney representing Vaulted Deep sent a letter to Accomack County Director of Planning and Community Development Lee Pambid, saying Vaulted was withdrawing their zoning appeal.
“On behalf of the applicant for the appeal, Vaulted Deep, I respectfully request that the appeal be withdrawn and that the County take no further action on it,” the letter reads. Vaulted Deep’s attorney goes on to say the company will take no further action to challenge to zoning decision, essentially halting the proposed project in Oak Hall.
WBOC reached out to Vaulted Deep on Tuesday but did not receive an immediate response.