Legislation takes aim at landfills

Legislation takes aim at landfills

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Opponents of a proposed third solid waste landfill in Madison County are rallying around a new bill in the state House of Representatives that would effectively force a referendum vote.

House Bill 1353 would allow residents of any county that amends its solid waste plan to include a new solid waste dump within one mile of an existing one to file a petition to put the measure to a reverse referendum vote. That means a 60 percent majority would need to go to the polls to vote down the amended solid waste plan.

The bill was introduced by District 20 Representative Chris Brown (R-Amory) and referred to the Conservation and Water Resources Committee on Feb. 17. In order for the bill to become a law, it needed to receive majority support from the full House of Representatives by Thursday, March 12. That had not happened as of press time Wednesday.

The lobbying group calling itself "No More Dumps" this week circulated a chain email supporting the bill and listing the names and phone numbers of House leaders and committee members capable of placing its passage on the fast-track.

"Madison County is a prime example!" The release said. "Madison County is the only county in Mississippi that has two landfills and there is a third landfill being proposed within one mile of an existing dump. Residents in Madison County are already experiencing odors from the existing landfills and a big outside company wants to add another landfill that would take in trash from 13 different counties!"

The release also encourages the group's supporters to contact their state representatives to urge them to support the bill.

HB1353 is the latest in a string of roadblocks opponents have thrown up to delay or quell the establishment of the county's third solid waste landfill west of Ridgeland on North County Line Road, adjacent to the existing Little Dixie Landfill.

The Journal reported two weeks ago about a similar bill introduced in the Senate by former U.S. Senate Candidate and current State Senator Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville) which would have amended the state code to outright disallow any solid waste management plan to include a new facility within one mile of an existing facility.

The third proposed Madison landfill has been a hot-button issue in Madison for several years since NCL Waste Management first announced its plans to locate in the rural area west of Ridgeland and just north of the City of Jackson.

Opponents of the proposed landfill have fought the proposal every step of the way. And while they weren't able to stymie the developers at the county level, they did receive a victory last month when the permit board for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality tabled a motion to issue NCL the necessary permit until the Madison County's Board of Supervisors took the step of amending it's solid waste plan.

To date, supervisors have taken no action.






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