Augusta Regional Landfill

The Augusta Regional Landfill is a joint undertaking among the County of Augusta, the City of Staunton, and the City of Waynesboro (Owners) and is operated on behalf of the Owners by the Augusta County Service Authority, d/b/a Augusta Water (Augusta Water).  

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located at §§ 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, ensures citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media have access to nonexempt public records held by a public body or its officers and employees.  The public purpose of FOIA is to promote an increased awareness of governmental activities by those entitled to receive nonexempt public records (Requester).

Custodian of the Records

A public record is defined generally as any writing or recording -- regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format -- prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business.

All public records are presumed to be open and may only be withheld if a specific statutory exemption applies and is properly invoked by the public body.  Records not prepared for or used in the transaction of public business are not public records.

FOIA provides that requests should be made to the custodian of the public records being sought.  Augusta Water is the custodian of the records related only to the operation of the Augusta Regional Landfill.  Augusta Water is not the custodian of records related to the transaction of business by the Owners or their other departments.  The Requester should contact the Owners or their specific departments for those records.

A Requester’s rights under FOIA

Requester has the following rights:

  • The right to request to inspect or receive copies, or both, of nonexempt public records;
  • The right to request any charges for the public records responsive to a request be estimated in advance of responding to the request;
  • If a Requester believes that FOIA rights have been violated, the Requester may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA.
  • Alternatively, a Requester may contact the FOIA Council (http://foiacouncil.dls.virginia.gov/) for a non-binding advisory opinion.

How to request public records from Augusta Regional Landfill

Nonexempt public records from the Augusta Regional Landfill may be requested by mail, fax, e-mail, in person, or over the telephone.  FOIA does not require a request to be in writing nor does a request need to specifically state that it is being made under FOIA.

The following requirements will better enable Augusta Regional Landfill to respond to a request:

  • The request must include the Requester’s name and legal address.
  • The request must identify the requested records with reasonable specificity; Reasonable specificity does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records being requested; instead, it requires the request to be sufficiently specific so Augusta Regional Landfill can identify and locate the records being requested.
  • The request must ask for existing records or documents; Augusta Regional Landfill is not required to create a new record if the record does not already exist. FOIA gives a Requester the right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to any situation where a Requester is seeking information to be provided in any form not consisting of a writing or a recording.
  • The Requester may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by Augusta Regional Landfill in the regular course of its business.

All FOIA records requests should be directed to the Augusta Regional Landfill’s FOIA Officer who can be contacted in the following ways:

  • In person at the Administration & Engineering Offices of Augusta Water, 18 Government Center Lane, Verona, VA 24482 (Lisa M. Morrell, FOIA Officer)
  • By telephone: 540-245-5366 or fax 540-245-5684‍
  • By e-mail: foia@augustaregionallandfill.com‍
  • By mail: P. O. Box 859, Verona, VA 24482

Additionally, the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council is available to answer any questions about FOIA.  The Council may be contacted:

Augusta Regional Landfill’s responsibilities in responding to a request

Augusta Regional Landfill will respond to a request within five (5) regular business days of receipt.  The five-business-day-period begins the business day immediately following the business day the request is received excluding weekends or holidays.

If Augusta Regional Landfill is unable to provide the requested records or to determine whether such records are available or nonexempt within five (5) business days, the Augusta Regional Landfill FOIA Officer will send a response within the five-business-day-period to the Requester stating it is not practically possible to provide a substantive response within five (5) business days and specifying the conditions that make providing a substantive response impossible.  Augusta Regional Landfill shall then have an additional seven (7) business days to provide a substantive response to the request.

If more than seven (7) business days are necessary to provide a substantive response to a request due to an extraordinary volume of records or which will require an extraordinarily lengthy search, Augusta Regional Landfill will make reasonable efforts to reach an agreement with the Requester for additional time.  If an agreement with the requester cannot be reached, Augusta Regional Landfill may petition the court for additional time to provide a substantive response.

Types of Records

The following is a general description of the types of records held by Augusta Regional Landfill:

  • Personnel records concerning employees and officials of Augusta Regional Landfill.
  • Records of contracts to which Augusta Regional Landfill is a party.
  • Records regarding the facilities Augusta Regional Landfill owns and/or operates.

Records exempt from FOIA

The Code of Virginia allows a public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure.  Augusta Regional Landfill will withhold otherwise public records containing confidential information and subject to the exclusions provided in Virginia State Code §2.2-3705.1 and 2.2-3705.7.

Exclusions commonly invoked by Augusta Regional Landfill

Augusta Regional Landfill most commonly withholds records subject to the following general exclusions provided under the Code of Virginia:

  • Personnel information identifying an individual (§ 2.2-3705.1(1))
  • Records subject to the attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1(2)) or the attorney work product doctrine (§ 2.2-3705.1(3))
  • Correspondence and working papers of the Executive Director (§ 2.2-3705.7(2))
  • Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2-3705.1(12))
  • Customer identifying account records for landfill services (§ 2.2-3705.7(7))
  • Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by a bidder, offeror, or contractor in connection with a procurement transaction subject to the Virginia Public Procurement Act, §§ 2.2-4300, et seq. (§2.2-4342(F))
  • Other exclusions may apply and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Policy regarding the use of exclusions

The general policy of Augusta Regional Landfill is to invoke the exclusions listed above in order: to protect the safety and privacy of Augusta Regional Landfill’s customers, employees and officials; to protect Augusta Regional Landfill’s bargaining position and negotiating strategy in contractual and legal matters; and to protect the correspondence and working papers of the Executive Director.

Costs

A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records.  No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees, or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body.  Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication.  All charges for the supplying of requested records will be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in § 2.2-3704(F) of the Code of Virginia.

The actual costs which Augusta Regional Landfill may charge include items such as staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records.  Charges will not include general overhead costs.

Currently, the following rates apply to FOIA requests:

  • $0.16 per 10 pages of hard copies (black & white); $0.73 per 10 pages of hard copies (color)
  • $4.50 for records provided on a USB thumb drive
  • $35.00 per hour for Augusta Regional Landfill’s FOIA Officer to access, duplicate, supply, or search for the requested records
  • $67.00 per hour for Augusta Regional Landfill’s Director of IT to access, duplicate, supply, or search for the requested records

If another Augusta Regional Landfill employee must access, duplicate, supply, or search for specific requested records, that particular employee’s hourly rate may be charged.  That rate can be provided once it is determined who will be responsible for searching for and providing those records.

If Augusta Regional Landfill decides there are costs involved in responding to a request, the Requester will be provided with an estimate of the projected costs for approval before the request is processed.  Advance notification of charges informs the Requester of any anticipated costs and gives the Requester the opportunity to limit the scope of a request which may reduce costs.

If Augusta Regional Landfill estimates costs will be under $200, the Requester will be provided with an invoice for costs when the Requester is provided the requested records.  Invoices are required to be paid within 30 days of receipt or payment may be made at the time requested records are received.  If Augusta Regional Landfill estimates the costs will likely exceed $200, the Requester will be required to submit a deposit prior to Augusta Regional Landfill processing the request.  The deposit may not exceed the estimated charges and will be credited toward the final cost of supplying the requested records.  The period of time in which Augusta Regional Landfill is required to respond to a request is placed on hold between the day Augusta Regional Landfill sends an advance notice of the estimate exceeding $200 and the day Augusta Regional Landfill receives the required deposit.  If the actual cost is less than the deposit, any balance remaining will be refunded.  If the actual cost is more than the deposit, an invoice will be issued and the balance must be paid within 30 days of receipt or payment of the balance may be made at the time requested records are received.

All payments must be made payable to Augusta Regional Landfill.

If a Requester owes Augusta Regional Landfill money from a previous public records request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, Augusta Regional Landfill may require payment of the past-due bill before responding to any new public records request by that Requester.