Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board Passes Resolution #3

Apr 26, 2022 at 04:15 pm by WGNS

Bill Ketron

(McMinnville)  The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board met in McMinnville Monday evening (4/25/2022) and passed Resolution #3. This moves efforts to control what goes into Murfreesboro's Middle Point Landfill, and may extend the life that remains in the Jefferson Pike facility. Another unknown is what counter-legal-move might be made by the landfill's owner, Republic Services, a publicly traded corporation based in Phoenix.

Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron told about the results of Monday night's session in McMinnville, “This stops all trash, especially Nashville’s, from coming into Rutherford County by December 31, 2022.  Now back to looking for the best way to divert our own trash through recycling.”

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In earlier WGNS’ broadcasts, the county mayor told of developing businesses that would dramatically reduce our waste through recycling processes.

Ketron noted, “We feel we can divert up to 40 per cent of our waste stream through the right process and proper education! This is what we have been working on for the last three and a half -years.”

Resolution 22-003

By Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board members - Bill Brock, Jim Bush, Donna Barrett, George Gannon, Darren Gore, Josh Roberts, Ron Lee, Blake O’Neal, David Orrick, Brian Reed, Bishop Wagener, Joe Whitefield.

A Resolution to restrict access to any landfills and incinerators in the Central Tennessee Region which dispose of municipal solid waste by excluding waste originating with persons or entities outside of the Region.

WHEREAS, In 1989, with the enactment of the Tennessee Solid Waste Planning and Recovery Act, the Tennessee General Assembly found that the public health, safety and welfare require comprehensive planning for the disposal of solid waste on a local, regional, and state level; and                                                                                            

WHEREAS, In 1991, The General Assembly enacted the Solid Waste Management Act which created regional solid waste planning boards with the directive, per TCA 68-211-813(b)(1)(A), of administering the activities of the region in attaining the state and regional goal of reducing by 25% the amount of solid waste disposed of at Class I municipal solid waste disposal facilities and incinerators; and

WHEREAS, In this Act, TCA 68-211-814 (b)(1)(B) states that the region or authority may restrict access to any landfills and incinerators which dispose of municipal solid waste by excluding waste originating with persons or entities outside of the region in order to effectuate the plan.  If a facility within a region has accepted waste from a specific source outside the region prior to July 1, 1991, the region may not prohibit that facility from continuing to accept waste from that source, unless the facility’s acceptance of that waste significantly impairs the region’s ability to effectuate its plan; and

WHEREAS, The Central Tennessee Solid Waste Planning Region 2001 Five-Year Update to Regional Solid Waste Plan in Section 9.3 also provides for Inter-Regional Flow Control if the facility’s acceptance of that waste significantly impairs the region’s ability to effectuate its plan; and

WHEREAS, The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board is comprised of Cannon, Coffee, Rutherford and Warren counties; and                      

WHEREAS, At least one facility located within the region, Middle Point landfill in Rutherford County, accepts waste originating with persons or entities outside of the region, and                       

WHEREAS, As documented in the 2019 Greater Nashville Regional Council Middle Tennessee Solid Waste Master Plan, Appendix E. Landfill Contributions, the identified out of region waste totals 70.27% of the total waste accepted at the in region landfill, with the following breakdown; Davidson ©46.90%, Sumner © 4.29%, Wilson © 4.04%, Williamson © 3.29%, Maury © 2.84%, Lincoln © 2.65%. Bedford © 2.29%, Franklin © 2.23% and Overton © 1.73%; and

WHEREAS, As Ordered in the 2011 Consent Order (Order VIII (2)(m)(ii) in the matter of State of Tennessee, Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Solid Waste vs BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee, LLC; BFI, due to accepting certain special wastes from persons or entities outside of the Region that created ongoing exothermic reactions, prematurely closed two sections of the Middle Point landfill resulting in reducing the space capacity and impaired the Region’s ability to effectuate its plan; and  

WHEREAS, The plan of the Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board is to attain the state and regional compliance goal, per TCA 68-211-861, of reducing by 25% the amount of solid waste disposed of at Class I municipal solid waste disposal facilities and incinerators; and

WHEREAS, In order to effectuate the region’s plan, the availability of in region landfills is necessary for optional disposal of solid waste remaining after efforts to attain the state and regional goal of reducing by 25% the amount of solid waste disposed at Class I municipal solid waste disposal facilities and incinerators; therefore,                                                         

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board hereby restricts access to any and all in-region landfills and incinerators which dispose of municipal solid waste by excluding waste originating with persons or entities outside of the Central Tennessee Region (Cannon, Coffee, Rutherford and Warren counties), and

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board does hereby give notice that, public welfare requiring it, as of the date of this resolution, affected persons/entities are to cease the acceptance of out-of-region waste at in-region landfills or incinerators by no later than December 31, 2022.

Motion by: Donna Barrett
ADOPTED: April 7, 2022 by unanimous vote.
Jim Bush, Acting Chairman - Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board

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