Commissioners adopt 'Jackson Law,' approve playroom funding
By unanimous votes with little fanfare, Scott County Commission on Monday adopted the Jackson Law that gives local government more control over privately-owned landfills, and gave a final okay to the new play room that will be built at Huntsville Elementary School.
The 10-0 votes, with four commissioners absent, came during a special meeting of the Commission, which followed Monday’s regularly-scheduled committee meetings.
Jackson Law
County Commission’s vote to opt in on the Jackson Law came with a disclaimer from Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers that it cannot be used to close the existing landfill at Bear Creek.
The Jackson Law is a state statute that was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1989. Once counties have opted in by a resolution of County Commission, approval of both the county government and the government of any city that a proposed landfill falls into is needed before a private landfill can be approved for construction by the state.
Scott County originally opted into the Jackson Law in 1989 and attempted to use it to deny a landfill permit being sought at the time by the late Johnny King on property he owned at Bear Creek. In 1992, a court ruled that County Commission acted inappropriately in denying the landfill permit, and Roberta Sanitary Landfill was subsequently permitted. The landfill — named for the historic place name of the Bear Creek area — was later sold to Waste Connections and is known today as Volunteer Regional Landfill, encompassing some 800 acres of property north of Bear Creek Road.
The Jackson Law exploded back into the public eye last month, when it was revealed that a Chattanooga-area developer is planning a new landfill on up to 700 acres of property adjacent to Volunteer Regional Landfill. As the Independent Herald reported on May 18, the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation sent a letter to Scott County in 2003 asking for County Commission to pass a resolution renewing the Jackson Law opt-in. That resolution was not considered, and the local opt-in was allowed to sunset in 2010. Weeks later, a small parcel of the property being purchased by developer Knox Horner of Cleveland, Tenn. was licensed as a Class I landfill.
Although there was immediately a push for County Commission to renew the opt-in of the Jackson Law, Scott County Attorney John Beaty warned commissioners at a meeting on May 19 that the law likely cannot be used to prevent the landfill that Horner is planning.
"(County Commission) can adopt the Jackson Law if you want, but if you adopt it and you vote to revoke (the new landfill proposal) you’re probably in violation of the court order,” Beaty told commissioners, referencing the 1992 court decision.
Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers told commissioners prior to Monday’s vote that the Jackson Law cannot be used in relation to the existing Volunteer Regional Landfill.
What happens next will likely be up to the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation. In 1989, when King was applying for a landfill permit, the state ceased its processing of his application after Scott County opted into the Jackson Law. Should Horner — who has signed a contract to purchase at least part of the property at Bear Creek — complete the purchase of the land and make formal application for a landfill permit, TNECD would be placed into a similar situation as in 1989. That decision was followed by a 12-1 vote by Scott County Commission to reject the landfill, which prompted the lawsuit in early 1990 that led to the court’s 1992 decision.
A small portion of the property being considered by Horner — less than 25 acres — was permitted as a landfill in 2010. However, a recent letter from TNECD, after Horner began the process of purchasing the property, states that a landfill cannot be constructed on that portion of the property until further investigation has been completed, since more than one year elapsed after the landfill was approved without construction starting on the facility, and there have been unspecified changes to the property since that time.
Horner has pledged to build a recycling center, implementing recycling education programs in local schools, and pay more than $1 million annually in host fees to both Scott County and the Town of Oneida.
While the implications of the Jackson Law on the Bear Creek property remain unclear, County Commission’s opt-in will prevent future landfills on other properties in Scott County without the approval of both County Commission and whichever city — Oneida, Huntsville or Winfield — the proposed landfill happens to fall into.
Huntsville Elementary play room
County Commission’s vote Monday night clears the final hurdle for construction to begin on a new play room at Huntsville Elementary School.
As proposed, the play room will consist of a regulation-size gymnasium floor, seating for up to 575 people, an intervention room, restrooms, and a concession stand. The Scott County Board of Education approved the project by an unanimous vote at a special meeting on May 22.
Knoxville-based Preen Construction, the same firm that recently built the new EMS station in Oneida, has won the bid to build the play room, at a cost of $2.19 million. County Commission’s vote Monday was to approve a funding mechanism for the project. Some $800,000 has already been budgeted and is in place as part of the Scott County School System’s budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. Another $800,000 will be included in the 2025-2026 budget that begins July 1, as part of the rural projects fund that is earmarked for capital projects within the school system. The remaining funding will require Scott County to borrow money that will be repaid from future rural fund revenues.
At a meeting last month, the school board approved a list of projects it hopes to complete using money borrowed by County Commission and repaid over a period of two years from the rural fund. The list includes projects at each of the county’s schools — including the removal of asbestos and flooring replacement at Huntsville Elementary, which was approved by County Commission in addition to the play room.