Landfill plan tossed in trash

Williamsburg County has tossed out its plan to build what could have been one of the state's largest landfills.

The county's recent about-face comes amid concerns that the state is becoming a magnet for out-of-state trash.

Because of those concerns, state lawmakers last month proposed a two-year moratorium on new landfills and expansions of existing ones.

Some in Berkeley County, however, worry that this moratorium could halt their plans to turn the county's landfill into a waste-to-energy operation.

After an outcry, Williamsburg County Council decided Feb. 9 to sever ties with MRR Southern, a company that proposed building a new landfill in the county.

It was a costly decision. MRR Southern and the county signed a contract last year calling for MRR Southern to take all of Williamsburg County's garbage for free and pay the county $2 to $2.50 for every ton of trash that came from outside the county. The deal also called for a 500-acre operation capable of taking 1.8 million tons of garbage a year, 40 times the garbage residents in Williamsburg County typically toss out.

To nullify the contract, County Council voted unanimously to offer MRR Southern a $750,000 buyout.

Opponents of the new landfill are relieved but wary.

"I hope we are finished with the threat of a megadump forever," said Tommy Stuckey, a farmer in the crossroads community of Nesmith near the landfill site.

Dan Moore, an executive with MRR Southern, said that the company invested a great deal of time and money in the project, and that "we are disappointed to see the project fall through." He said he hopes the company will finalize the buyout this week.

"I often thought during the better times of this partnership that this would be the last large greenfield landfill project on the East Coast," he said. "Contrary to popular belief, permitting has become so arduous and the self-proclaimed environmentalists have become so well versed in anti-development tactics that it is all but impossible to permit a new landfill."

Officials in Berkeley County fear the rush to stop such megadumps could affect their plans to take five different waste streams at their landfill — methane, sewage sludge, waste water, food and yard waste and wood debris — and turn them into power.

Colin Martin, executive director of Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, said the legislation, as written, puts a moratorium on landfill expansions, and if regulators deem their plan an "expansion," it would "stop the clean, renewable efforts that we intend to make."

He said he hopes lawmakers will tweak the legislation so innovative waste-to-energy projects can move forward.

As Berkeley County officials wrestle with this issue, Williamsburg County leaders still must find a place for garbage.

The county operates a landfill the state Department of Health and Environmental Control wants shut down because of long-standing pollution problems.

Stuckey, who formed a group called Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Williamsburg County, said he thinks the best solution is to ship Williamsburg County's trash to an existing dump in the region that has extra capacity.

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.