At a tense community meeting in October, Fayetteville residents learned that hazardous gases detected near the Cliffdale Landfill have exceeded North Carolina’s cancer risk thresholds for indoor air—and may pose an even more immediate threat of explosion.
State investigators at the Oct. 22 meeting shared early results from soil-gas probes installed on properties bordering the former Fayetteville landfill, revealing elevated levels of methane and other chemicals on six sites. The Cliffdale Landfill operated from 1972 to 1980 on approximately 60 acres owned by Cumberland County.
State officials said they are close to completing testing on all 37 adjacent homes and plan to sample beneath houses where risks were flagged as part of a broader effort to determine whether toxic vapors are migrating into living spaces.
The meeting, announced via mailers and flyers, was led by engineering consultants S&ME and representatives from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), who shared preliminary findings and fielded questions from concerned homeowners.
The Cliffdale site, at 7583 Lowell Harris Road, is one of approximately 700 pre-regulatory landfill sites across North Carolina—landfills that operated before modern environmental standards were enacted in 1983. Ten of those sites are located in Fayetteville.
Methane detected near homes
State investigators are testing 37 properties near the Cliffdale Landfill after finding hazardous gases in the landfill soil. So far, 26 homes have soil-gas probes installed, with some lab results showing methane levels as high as 62.7%—more than 12 times the federal safety limit of 5%.
The probes measure the concentration of gases like methane in the soil vapor—not the soil itself. Lab analysis also screened for hydrogen sulfide, mercury, and volatile organic compounds.
Six probes also detected chemicals exceeding North Carolina’s indoor air risk standards for cancer and other health effects, NCDEQ spokesperson Katherine Lucas wrote in an email to CityView.
Tom Raymond, an engineer with S&ME, told residents that the methane levels were so high that if it leaks into enclosed spaces like basements and builds up, it could reach levels that can explode. “We don’t know how far that methane is migrating beyond the landfill boundary,” he said. “We determine the explosive level and we just continue to step out until we can delineate the extent of groundwater and vapor contamination.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, landfill gases can migrate both above and below ground, entering the ambient air and traveling into nearby communities with the wind. Past incidents underscore the danger: in 1987, off-site gas migration was suspected in a house explosion in Pittsburgh; in 1994, a woman was severely burned by a methane blast while playing soccer in a Charlotte park built over a landfill; and in 2007, four workers died from hydrogen sulfide exposure while repairing a leachate pump at a landfill in Superior, Wisconsin.
NCDEQ is offering methane alarms and indoor air screening to 37 homes. Additional testing beneath houses is planned where elevated readings were found.
Residents demand transparency, accountability
During the Oct. 22 meeting, several residents raised questions about the health effects of prolonged methane exposure. In response, a woman who identified herself as a toxicologist with NCDEQ stepped forward to address the crowd. She stated that methane does not cause long-term health issues—a claim that was immediately challenged by a community member who interrupted, saying, “Oh, that’s not true!”
(The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) states that methane is not known to cause long-term health effects at low concentrations, but its presence may signal active gas migration from landfills, which can carry known or suspected carcinogens like VOCs or hydrogen sulfide. Methane can still pose serious risks due to oxygen displacement and explosion hazards.)
The toxicologist appeared visibly shaken by the exchange and urged attendees to fact-check her statements using the CDC’s website.
When the same resident insisted that such information should be proactively shared, the toxicologist replied that she was “here to be a public service” and added, “I refuse to be spoken to like this.” She then left the meeting.
Later, when additional health-related questions were raised, NCDEQ and Cumberland County staff suggested that the opportunity to have those questions answered had been lost due to the earlier exchange. A county staff member indicated that a toxicologist would not return to future meetings.
The incident prompted frustration from several attendees, who questioned whether the toxicologist had been adequately trained to engage with the public.
NCDEQ did not respond to questions from CityView regarding the identity and role of the toxicologist who spoke at the meeting, how the exchange was handled, or whether toxicological expertise will be provided at future community forums. The agency also did not comment on how it plans to address residents’ health-related concerns moving forward.
Samantha Coughlin, a nearby resident and mother of young children, told CityView she attended the meeting to learn more about the health risks. “I feel like the county/city did a poor job of informing the residents [about potential health effects],” she told CityView. Coughlin purchased her home in 2020 unaware of the landfill’s presence.
Officials acknowledge gaps, pledge continued testing
Amanda Lee, Cumberland County’s Solid Waste Management Director, acknowledged the community’s concerns. “We’ve identified a problem. We’re coming to you with the information that we have available now,” she told attendees of the October community meeting. “We’re continuing to dig and to find the answers. I’m sorry we don’t have all the answers for you tonight.”
Delonda Alexander, head of DEQ’s Special Remediation Branch, emphasized the limits of the state’s resources when discussing the investigation into the Fayetteville site. “We only have a very limited amount of money that goes to this program,” she said, noting that sites are prioritized based on exposure risks and groundwater contamination.
“So it’s not great news for you, but it’s good news. There’s hundreds and hundreds across the state where we don’t even know if people are being exposed.”
Historical oversight and next steps
As a pre-1983 landfill, the Cliffdale site was never lined or regulated under modern construction standards. Historical documentation is also sparse—some records were destroyed during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Raymond said at the meeting.
In June 2023, documents show the county gave NCDEQ permission to conduct an environmental investigation to evaluate potential public health and environmental hazards.
After this ongoing round of soil-gas sampling is completed and lab results are in, NCDEQ will share a report with the community—a process expected to take a couple of months.
“If there are any imminent hazards identified that need to be addressed, we are prepared to take action as needed,” Lucas, the department spokesperson, said.
She added that the investigation will continue until the full extent of contamination is mapped out—including not just soil gas, but groundwater, soil, surface water, sediment, and vapor.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Amanda Lee as the City of Fayetteville’s solid waste management director. Amanda Lee is Cumberland County’s solid waste management director. CityView apologizes for this error.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com.
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