By MIKE KRAFCIK
6 News Reporter
CRAB ORCHARD (WATE) - Neighbors of a proposed landfill in Crab Orchard have concerns as their community looks at rules for putting the site into operation.
6 News visited the site in April 2011 when a petition circulated to stop the project at the old Cumberland County quarry.
Jessica Rhodes' home sits about 50 yards from the proposed landfill, she worries about the effect the landfill could have on her and her neighboring family members.
"The smell of a landfill will totally run us out, and we draw disability checks. There's no way we can move because we can't afford rent," Rhodes said.
The Crab Orchard town council will soon decide whether to approve the permitting process for a company called SCP Properties.
The company first approached officials two years ago about the idea. At that time, it was voted down, with 90% of the residents against it.
Not much has changed. "The residents, they don't want it in the middle of their town. We took a poll. Nine out of 10 do not want it in the city of Crab Orchard," said Crab Orchard Mayor Emmett Sherrill.
The company has applied for a Class III landfill permit, which would allow waste like demolition materials.
"There's not going to be any household waste, not any garbage. It'll be timber, leaves, branches, mortar, bricks, that sort of thing," said Dennis Hinch, with SCP Investments.
In addition, the town is considering an ordinance that would provide rules and regulations for operation of a landfill. Landfill hauling would also be limited to during Monday through Saturday, with no hauling permitted at any time on Sundays.
Hauling vehicles would also be required to be constructed to prevent any material from dropping or escaping.
The ordinance would not allow a Class I and II landfill permit.
"We're just trying to something in order to where Crab Orchard would be covered if it does go in," Sherrill said.
In 2009, the company was denied a permit for Class I and II permits, which would dump materials like industrial waste and dead animals.
The company says the landfill will be the only one of its kind in Cumberland County, consisting of 4 million cubic yards. "We think it's a business deal for us, a great side, a good deal for everybody," Hinch said.
The city would get a cut of the waste the site would bring in, but right now there's no word on how lucrative it would be. "We don't have all the figures we need to make a good decision on it yet," Emmett said.
The second reading of that ordinance comes in just a few weeks.
A public hearing on the landfill proposal is scheduled for later in January. After that, the town council will vote on whether to approve the permit.
