Virginia House of Del. Allen Louderback answered allegations made by a Page County resident concerning Louder-back’s role as a supervisor in the construction of the Beaver Creek Landfill.

Louderback is up for re-election this November as the representative in the House for Shenandoah County as well as Page and Rappahannock counties.

Edward A. Kieloch of Luray said the mess at the landfill now can be attributed to Louderback who was on the board of supervisors.

As was reported in last week’s paper, Kieloch distributed a flier around Woodstock suggesting voters needed to know about Louderback’s involvement with Tellurian and reported connections to New York mobsters. He also said he was basing his allegations on deposition testimony by the ex-president of Tellurian, Michael L. Perkins.

The deposition, taken on June 13, 1995, for a civil action brought by Tellurian, Inc., against Perkins and his wife, Karen G. Perkins, and a firm the husband and wife owned jointly - Arpatia, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the Harrisonburg Division, suggested it was Perkins’ who represented Tellurian to then Page County Administrator Ron Wilson.

Perkins also testified he had no experience in landfill management but that he did have some experience in the trucking business. He formed a partnership with two other individuals and approached Page County about closing the Stanley landfill and a short time later, suggested to Wilson, they could construct, own and manage the new landfill.

"We were under a strict time line to do something about the landfill situation back then (in the early 1990s’)," Louderback explained.

The Department of Environmental Quality had issued the mandate to not just Page County but many landfills in the state. The Stanley landfill could not be expanded and although it was nearing its total capacity, it left Page County officials with hard decisions to make on a tight budget.

"Our options for closing the old landfill were to fill it in with dirt or bring in trash," Louderback explained.

Because of the time constraints imposed by DEQ, one or the other option had to be decided quickly. "We spoke with many firms, not just Tellurian; proposals were requested and Tellurian came in with what we (the board) thought was the best one to affect a solution to both. Close the old land fill and construct a new one." He said the board looked at many options including trucking Page County trash elsewhere, "But the charges per ton were prohibitive over the long run."

The mandated requirements of new landfills by DEQ were not only much stricter but also more costly. Louderback said he believed the cost for the new landfill would have been around $4 million. Provisions of the contract with Perkins and Tellurian would have the company constructing, owning, operating the new landfill and closing the old one. Page County was to be charged a monthly fee for Page County trash.

Perkins testified he informed his Tellurian partners and the Page County officials that the added trash needed to make the new landfill financially solvent was to have surrounding counties truck their trash to the new landfill. Shenandoah County was one of those counties. But the tipping fees and the costs of hauling trash - again through New Market - led this county to decline the offer. Only Warren County accepted Tellurian’s proposal.

While the old landfill still needed closing, Perkins approached Wilson with a request for $200,000 down payment toward a transfer station to be purchased in Washington, D.C. Perkins testified the cost of the property was around $1 million. He also testified he went into a partnership with the owner of a trucking company.

Louderback said when the check was issued, against future invoices to be paid to Tellurian, they were under the impression the "transfer station" was to be owned by Tellurian. "I remember the check was issued to a law firm whom we supposed was the escrow account."

It wasn’t according to Perkins.

Perkins and his wife established independent companies while both were working for Tellurian and paid by them a salary. The companies reportedly charged Tellurian for services and or equipment designed to haul trash.

Louderback said they trusted Tellurian and Perkins. He questioned how they (Page County officials) would or should have suspected Perkins of dealing outside the company he represented. The owners, once Perkins was no longer there, must have suspected something also.

"I do not feel I was negligent or the board was negligent. And I am working very hard with Page County to develop a solution. I don’t want to run a negative campaign. What I do want to do is to confront the issues that face the 15th District now," Louderback said.

He also said he would be willing, and has in fact, answered questions to law enforcement officials regarding the landfill issue. "I’ll answer anyone’s questions about the landfill issue or any other issue for I have nothing to hide."

There is another issue. All of the depositions taken in this lawsuit were, according to the U.S. District Court Clerk, ordered sealed after an out-of-court settlement was reached by the parties involved, according to Kieloch.

Kieloch said he had no problem with purchasing four copies of the deposition for $612.75 which he paid to Karen L. Hart, the court reporter who took the depositions.

Kieloch said copies of the deposition could be purchased at the Luray Copy Center on Main Street in Luray.