Alamance County attorney Rik Stevens has filed a lawsuit against a rural Liberty homeowner in the southwest part of the county, seeking an injunction to force her to remove household waste that has accumulated on her property for at least two years yard and to stop trash from being burned in lieu of legally-allowed methods of disposal.
This marks the second time in the past few months that Alamance County government officials have taken legal action to force a homeowner to clean up illegally dumped household waste that could pose health hazards to neighbors and the general public.
In late 2024, the county was granted an injunction against Patricia Hayes Walker, the owner of a home at 815 Grey Fox Trail, Graham, which authorized Alamance County’s environmental health staff to remove trash that for more than two years had nearly overtaken the yard.
Earlier last year, the county also sued Forrest Michael Shadle, the owner of property at 2953 Quakenbush Road, Snow Camp, to force him to remove piles of debris, household trash, and a soiled couch from his yard, which his neighbors claimed they could smell from a quarter-mile away.
In early 2021, then-county attorney Clyde Albright negotiated an out-of-court agreement with the daughter of an elderly homeowner at 1940 Barbee Street, Burlington, to remove accumulated yard waste that had led to citations for illegal sewage discharges and rodent infestations.
Now, the county attorney has filed a lawsuit against Christie Lynn Sharpe to force her to clean up an alleged stockpile of household garbage, scrap metal, and tires from her yard at 5815 Kimesville Road, Liberty.
Sharpe inherited the 871-square foot single-family home and two acres of land in 2017, according to Alamance County property records.
Complaints from neighboring property owners prompted Alamance County environmental health division staff to inspect Sharpe’s property three times between October and December 2024. All three inspections confirmed the presence of a “substantial pile of household garbage, old discarded items, and other debris dumped on to the property,” according to the lawsuit that Stevens filed two weeks ago in Alamance County civil superior court.
“[Sharpe] has failed to correct the violations or work with [county government] in meeting established goals of reducing the solid waste,” the county claims in its suit. “The solid waste pile has remained and/or continued to increase in size.”
In addition to the complaints about the growing trash piles, county government officials have also fielded complaints about suspected illegal burning of trash and synthetic materials on Sharpe’s property, which is prohibited by the county’s solid waste ordinance.
Alamance County fire marshal John Payne visited the property multiple times – on several occasions, with staff from the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) – and observed “scorched piles of non-vegetative materials,” leading him to conclude that illegal burning had taken place, the suit asserts.
DEQ officials also notified Sharpe in June 2022, January 2023, and January 2025 to stop burning or allowing trash to be burned on her property, which she was warned could lead to fine of up to $25,000 and/or court action, according to the lawsuit that the county has filed in Alamance County civil superior court.
“[Sharpe] has consistently failed and refused to cease such practices, has either permitted such activities to occur or failed to prevent them from happening,” the suit alleges. These illegal practices violate North Carolina’s air quality regulations and pose significant health risks to others through the combustion of synthetic materials that may be particularly dangerous for individuals with respiratory conditions, according to the suit.
“There is an increasing threat that such material and debris will attract and harbor insects, rodents or other pests,” the county asserts. “The existence and maintenance of the defendant’s premises with its current solid waste collection is unlawful and, if not abated, will continue to pose a serious threat to the occupants and members of the general public.
The county is seeking an injunction to compel Sharpe to clean up her property within 30 days of the date on which an injunction is granted.
The county also intends to ask a judge to authorize environmental health staff to clean up the property and file a lien against Sharpe’s property for costs associated with the cleanup in the event that she fails to do it herself within 30 days of the entry of an injunction.
Sharpe was served with a summons last week but had not filed a response by press time.
