Court Keeps Writ in Place Halting Vertical Expansion of Landfill

The Chancery Court of Davidson County ordered today that the previous writ of mandamus will stay in place. The writ, issued originally on February 10, 2025, directed that TDEC must cease processing BFI’s application for a vertical expansion of the Middle Point Landfill.

At the hearing today, TDEC argued that the mandamus order was improperly granted and that BFI did not have to go through the normal statutory regional board review for a vertical expansion. The Court, however, ruled that the mandamus will stay in place and that the statutory language is clear that any construction or expansion of a landfill must first go to the Regional Board for local review, including a public hearing where citizens must be afforded an opportunity for public comment.

Mayor Shane McFarland commented on the victory for the City stating, “The Court halting this process and allowing the proper process to take place is important for the entire City, especially the 23,000 citizens who live within three miles of the Landfill. The community’s voices need to be heard and today, the Court has ensured that.”

The City of Murfreesboro filed a lawsuit in December to halt TDEC’s review of the application until BFI complied with the Solid Waste Management Act. The City asked the Court to stop TDEC from processing BFI’s vertical expansion application until BFI first submitted its application to the Regional Board for local review. The vertical expansion would place a 70-foot high landfill on top of the existing landfill, adding an estimated 19 million tons of waste to Middle Point.