Landfill developers sue county

Developers behind the third proposed landfill in Madison County are suing county supervisors for taking no action last month to provide an updated needs assessment, something the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has asked before considering any future permit. 

NCL Waste LLC filed an appeal of the board’s inaction in Madison County Circuit Court last Thursday and Board President Gerald Steen was served papers over the weekend.

According to the appeal, NCL argues that going back as early as 2008, the company began the process of developing a third landfill with Madison County on board. 

“For years, and with full knowledge and cooperation of Madison County, NCL has diligently been pursuing and working to obtain the requisite permits from MDEQ. MDEW has recommended to the MDEQ Permit Board that the Permit Board approve NCL’s permits to operate the NCL Landfill in Madison County.”

In January, the MDEQ Permit Board tabled NCL’s petition, saying they would not look at the permit until Madison County provided an updated needs assessment. MDEQ did not require or order the county to update its solid waste plan. 

In June, NCL sent county supervisors a letter requesting the county update its solid waste plan, even offering to pay for the study. 

However, during the July 20 board meeting, supervisors voted in executive session 3-2 not to proceed with a new solid waste study at this time. District 1 Supervisor Sheila Jones, District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter and District 3 Supervisor Gerald Steen all voted not to proceed at the time. 

“In other words, the Board — with full awareness that the Madison County Solid Waste Management Plan included the NCL Landfill and that NCL had diligently been pursuing permits from MDEQ — voted not to conduct the Needs Assessment requested by MDEQ as part of NCL’s permitting process,” the appeal states. “NCL is aggrieved by the Board’s refusal to conduct the Needs Assessment.”

The appeal is asking the court to “reverse the Board’s decision, render the decision that the Board ought to have made — that is, provide the Needs Assessment — and certify the same to the Board.”

District 4 Supervisor Karl Banks said in July following the board’s decision not to produce the needs assessment that his colleagues wanted to wait until several other decisions were made before ordering the needs assessment. Banks said Jones, Baxter and Steen wanted to wait until a Ridgeland annexation of the property where NCL would be located was concluded. In addition, he said they wanted to see how an expansion of the landfill in Canton played out before asking for a needs assessment, because those two items could affect the assessment.