Ski slope might be built on old, closed Fairfax Co. landfill

LORTON, Va. — One of the world’s longest indoor ski slopes might be built on what was once a Fairfax County landfill.

The landfill has long been closed, but is still maintained for what’s underneath, according to Dan Storck, Mt. Vernon supervisor.

A pipe sticking from the dirt captures methane coming from the ground.

“Thirty years ago, this was a open landfill, and we buried garbage from Fairfax County residents here,” Storck said.

Fairfax County now burns its garbage in the nearby Covanta waste-to-energy incinerator. But the decades of piled-up garage has created a small mountain with a view.