Does S.C. need mega-dumps?

What do you get if you are a poor, rural South Carolina county with no major industry? You might get a solid-waste dump. If you're Marlboro County, you might even get the largest solid-waste dump in the United States.

A band of stouthearted citizens in that county have been fighting for almost a year to stop plans for a dump site that would begin at 932 acres but could grow to 5,000 acres with waste piled up some 300 feet.

Belvin Sweatt, a retiree who has spent his life in Marlboro County, is leading the charge — not just because it would be a visual blight but also because he fears the dump could contaminate the 12 creeks nearby and the wells they supply. Those creeks empty into the Pee Dee River, and the Pee Dee flows on down into Winyah Bay.

MRR, the company that wants to build the dump, originally tried to put it just across the border in North Carolina. It took opponents there 18 years, but they stopped it when the state agreed to increase the tipping fee dumpers are charged. What was good for North Carolina wasn't good for this state, however. MRR simply refocused on South Carolina, where both land costs and tipping fees are lower.

Even then, North Carolina wasn't off the hook altogether. The Marlboro County dump site is right on the border between the two Carolinas, and the only entrance is in Richmond County, N.C.

Activists in North Carolina have offered encouragement to the people of Marlboro County in their fight to keep the dump out. Initially, the opposition was significant and vocal. As many as 150 people appeared at county council meetings in a facility that accommodates about 19. They marched in small towns nearby. They marched in Columbia. They talked to lawyers, researched dump sites and worked on updating the county's waste-management plan.

In June, the county held a non-binding referendum. While the turnout was small (it was held on the heels of a primary vote), 94 percent voted against allowing the mega-dump to proceed.

Another mega-landfill being proposed by MRR for Williamsburg County, near the Georgetown County line, has drawn strong opposition as well. County officials recently tabled the idea.

MRR apparently is not easily discouraged. A lawyer for the company alluded to other counties facing "years of expensive and time-consuming litigation" when they tried to stop MRR.

Some Marlboro County Council members and legislators back the dump because it promises to bring money to the poor county — $2 million a year plus free waste service for the county. (MRR offered $4 million to Richmond County.)

Mr. Sweatt and his colleagues, though, see no windfall. They see garbage coming from up and down the East Coast — as much in one day as Marlboro County produces in a year, according to Mr. Sweatt.

They have been told not to worry about contamination. By law, dumps must have thick linings and monitors to detect if there are leaks. They also must have a system of gathering leaked contaminants and treating them.

That doesn't persuade Mr. Sweatt, whose research shows that the linings can leak. He also says a landfill would hurt property values.

Mr. Sweatt's band has thinned some. He says Marlboro County remains a place where a handful of powerful people lead and the rest follow.

But county leaders should consider whether MRR really has the county's best interests at heart and should proceed no further without serious consideration of its citizens' wishes. The fact that MRR is seeking construction of another massive landfill in Williamsburg County, near the Georgetown County line, says the issue should be of broader state concern.

South Carolina doesn't need to regain its former standing as the dumping ground of the nation.