Governor’s signature stops dump

Ridgeland officials have been fighting big corporate garbage interests over a third landfill for more than two decades and have had a lot of help from their friends lately in a huge, successful bipartisan push to stop them.

A bill that gives local voters a say on whether any new household garbage dump can be located in a community was signed by Gov. Tate Reeves at City Hall Wednesday afternoon culminating years of hard-fought battles with the corporate garbage interests going back to 1998. 

Upon signing the bill surrounded by dozens of the bill’s proponents in the city board room, Reeves congratulated local officials on working “very, very hard” to get House Bill 949 passed.

“It is supposed to be hard to pass the laws that govern us so that every idea does not become law,” Reeves said.

Reeves added that the bill gives people a voice.

The legislation was a joint effort among Ridgeland, Jackson, Canton and various state and local officials over multiple counties.

Specifically, the bill would allow voters to decide whether to allow a proposed NCL Waste, LLC landfill in western Madison County because of its close proximity to the state’s largest landfill.

IESI, a Texas-based company with landfills in seven different states at the time, was among those initially seeking to put another dump in Madison County in the early 2000s.

The Mississippi House of Representatives took the final legislative step approving a measure 107-3 to concur with the State Senate on House Bill 949 giving voters the say.

Ridgeland Mayor Gene F. McGee said he is pleased to see the bill pass. “We are pleased that the House chose to pass the bill,” McGee said. “It gives the people a voice.”

McGee said he appreciated Rep. Jill Ford and others for stepping to the plate and getting the legislation introduced and passed.

“In the long-run it is good for both citizens of Madison County and specifically the city of Ridgeland,” McGee said. “We are excited to see the bill pass and think it is appropriate.” 

Ridgeland Alderman-at-Large D.I. Smith, a longtime prominent opponent of the proposed NCL landfill, thanked state officials who helped get the bill passed and local leaders who spearheaded the opposition to the proposed landfill.

“Thank you, Rep. Jill Ford, Sen. Walter Michel, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and all the members of the Legislature who supported this bill,” Smith said. “This would not have been possible without all the calls and emails from the citizens of Madison and Hinds counties. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You”

Aside from opposing the landfill for aesthetic reasons, Ridgeland officials see the landfill as an impediment to the future growth of the city, particularly, the city's West County Line Road annexation which was final and effective on Thursday, March 4.

Mississippi’s legislative leadership worked with a bipartisan, diverse coalition of lawmakers from Madison and Hinds counties to craft and pass House Bill 949.

Some of other leaders opposing the landfill include Jackson Mayor Chockwe Antar Lumumba, former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, Ridgeland aldermen, Canton Mayor William Truly, Canton aldermen, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, some of the Madison County supervisors, many other local citizens, including Robert Watson a business leader and former automobile executive.

“I am just so grateful for the people in our community,” said Sylvia Thomas of the North Livingston Homeowner’s Association. “We’ve fought this proposed landfill for many years and were worried sick about a second landfill’s impact on our neighborhood. We thank our legislative leaders for standing up for us and putting the people’s interests before the interests of a big company.” 

“We are thrilled both chambers of the legislature stood strong for the people affected by having multiple landfills near them,” said Ron Farris, attorney for No More Dumps, a coalition of over 2,000 concerned citizens. 

“This is the result of real bipartisan teamwork and a sort of David and Goliath story. The entire community came together to fight for the people’s interest against a big, powerful company with millions of dollars and won. This speaks well of Mississippi and our strong support of environmental justice.”

NCL Waste LLC has sought approval from the State for years to locate a landfill at 2858 North County Line Road right next to the existing landfill in a rather undeveloped part of south Madison County.

Early last year, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality permit board tabled consideration of the landfill until Madison County updated its solid waste needs assessment.

Meanwhile, the garbage company put tremendous legal pressure on the Madison County Board of Supervisors to do their bidding but were stymied by local opposition, including from some supervisors.

Local legislators proposed a similar bill to HB 949 last year, but it failed. This year, a bipartisan coalition of State Reps. Jill Ford, Ed Blackmon, Debra Gibbs and De‘Keither Stamps were determined to find a solution and co-sponsored HB 949. 

With additional support coming from Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and many other legislators, the bill passed with incredibly strong support in both chambers and had the backing of Reeves in the end.

“We are celebrating in the Woodland Springs neighborhood and all over Madison County,” said Cynthia McGilberry, a registered nurse who lives within a mile of the proposed landfill. 

“We already have the state’s largest landfill just across the woods from us and all the negatives that come with that. Another dump would have been an injustice to the people. This gives me hope; I am thankful for the politicians who did the right thing.”

If the proposed NCL landfill were to be built, Madison County would be the only county in Mississippi with three such landfills. 

Opponents from across the political spectrum agreed that an unneeded landfill would threaten property values, quality of life and the environment.

“This is a victory for economic development in our area,” said Katie Warren, 2020 president of the Central Mississippi Realtors. “Our organization is invested in growing neighborhoods and communities, and this will give more opportunity for families to build houses and the local economy to thrive.”

With the legislation, officials say they are confident that that if NCL were to get approval from MDEQ in the future, voters would reject a third landfill in Madison County.

The fight goes back to 1998 when the Madison County Board of Supervisors, under David Richardson’s leadership, rezoned the site to allow for another dump.