Landfill Update From Mayor McFarland

We just reviewed the February inspection report from TDEC on Middlepoint. It was not good. Here are the highlights:

1. 15 acres of area that didn’t have sufficient initial cover or intermediate cover resulting in visible open trash
2. Hydrogen sulfide staining on the southern slope and gas bubbling in multiple leachate pools. This causes significant odor.
3. Exposed waste present from top to bottom of eastern and southern slopes, including alongside drainage chutes
4. Leachate outbreaks located near stormwater ditch of southern slope and large pools of leachate forming on top of the landfill
5. Erosion rills on southern and eastern slopes
6. Tires observed throughout waste

How can people want to “discuss” additional landfill space when Republic isn’t taking care of what it has now? The “conversation” should be easy….fix the issues you have, and then we can discuss what’s next. The bottom line is that the operational failures at Middle Point need to be identified and fixed, and Republic must provide the community with assurances that these problems will not resurface and that other, similar problems will not arise.