Landfill bill dies in Senate

Landfill bill dies in Senate

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Emboldened by the death of a bill in the state Legislature that would have prohibited the development of a third solid waste landfill in Madison County, the developers behind the proposed dump are now asking the Board of Supervisors to take steps to make the new landfill a reality.

House Bill 1533, which was approved by the State House of Representatives and double-referred to the Senate Committees on Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources and Accountability, would have required — among other things — that any new landfill within one mile from an existing landfill would have to be approved by 60 percent of county residents in a vote.

Shortly after the bill died Tuesday in the Environmental Committee, chaired by State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville), NCL Waste LLC attorney John Brunini sent a letter to the Madison County Board of Supervisors asking them to direct contractor Headwaters, Inc. to prepare an updated needs assessment.

Brunini, who represents NCL Waste on behalf of the Butler Snow Law Firm, has repeatedly threatened to sue the board if it did not move swiftly to support the private company's goal of building the third landfill.

Brunini says the board is bound by Section 2.2 of the Host Fee Agreement between Madison County and NCL Waste, which requires the county to assist and cooperate with NCL Waste in its efforts to obtain the relevant environmental permits required to build the landfill.

Earlier this year, on Jan. 14, the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board voted to table its consideration of NCL's permits until supervisors provided that board with an updated needs assessment for the county.

"Accordingly," Brunini wrote in his letter, "NCL Waste respectfully requests that Madison County direct its contractor to prepare the updated needs assessment, including termination of need for the proposed landfill, and deliver this report to the board of Supervisors as soon as practicable."

Also in the letter, Brunini says NCL will reimburse Madison County for any costs it incurs as a result of the separation and submission of such a report and asks that the matter be placed on the agenda for its next meeting on June 15.



Opponents of the landfill, including Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee and the rest of Ridgeland's leadership, at least two members of the Madison County Board of Supervisors and a group of concerned citizens who have organized a group calling itself "No More Dumps," have taken steps to stop the development.

Ridgeland's Alderman-at-Large D.I. Smith, one of the development's most outspoken opponents, said he was appalled at both the Legislature's inaction and the swiftness with which NCL's legal representation has moved to threaten supervisors.

"They have been working behind the scenes all along," Smith said on Wednesday. "They have been lobbying the Legislature to kill that bill, and sadly, the leadership went with them instead of with the Madison and Hinds County residents who have expressed their opposition. I know private businesses threaten government bodies, but it's usually behind closed doors in executive session or in backrooms. To see it out in the open is remarkable.

"It's supposed to be ‘We the people' not ‘We the money.' People tell me all the time that they appreciate what we're doing, but that we don't have a dog's chance in this fight because money trumps everything. Sadly, it's this kind of issue that undermines the people's confidence in government institutions, and it's why the government is one of the most hated and despised organizations in the country."

McGee indicated Wednesday morning that he also intended to attend the June 15 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, saying any vote to order a new needs assessment "premature."

"Obviously we're disappointed," McGee said of the Legislature's failure to move forward on the bill. "But I'll save my further comments for the meeting next week."

The dump would be the third in Madison County. No other county in Mississippi has more than one.

McGee is far from the only local elected official who has supported the bill opposing the dump. The town of Flora and the city of Canton have both passed resolutions expressing opposition to the project, and freshman State Rep. Jill Ford said last week she was proud to vote in favor of sending HB 1533 to the Senate.






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