Examining the re-certification of landfill at Bear Creek
Plus: June Sharpe celebrates 50 years at Mountain People's
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Since 1904, First National Bank has been a part of Scott County. First National is local people — just like you. Visit fnboneida.com or call (423) 569-8586. (Sponsored content.)
A look at efforts to re-certify Roberta landfill permit
It was indicated during an inaugural meeting of the Scott County McCreary County Environmental Coalition last week that the 24-acre Roberta Phase II landfill at Bear Creek has been re-certified by the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation.
That development is not unexpected. The landfill was originally permitted by TDEC in July 2010 and must be re-certified since the landfill was not constructed within 365 days.
However, the re-certification process is noteworthy because it follows a letter issued by TDEC earlier this year saying that further investigation is needed before construction can proceed on the landfill.
The permitted landfill is located on property being purchased by landfill developers based in the Chattanooga and Atlanta areas from Oneida-based Bearcat Properties Inc. The developers are in the process of purchasing approximately 700 acres for a landfill and a trash transfer station along the Norfolk-Southern Railroad nearby.
To date, the annual landfill re-verification process has been relatively routine — although there have apparently been some penalties along the way due to issues such as late filings, according to information at last week’s meeting. However, state law requires a re-certification process if more than 365 days have elapsed between the issuance of a permit and the start of construction.
This past winter, TDEC issued a letter to all parties involved — including Knox Horner, who is leading the efforts to develop the landfill — stating that additional investigation was needed on its part prior to the start of construction. That is a routine step on its part, given that the permit ownership is changing hands.
Re-certification documentation submitted by Horner — which was obtained from TDEC by local citizens who are fighting to stop the proposed landfill — offers insight into the process. The state’s process allows for up to 180 days for TDEC to issue written authorization for landfill construction to proceed. At last week’s meeting, however, Horner indicated that the landfill re-authorization is complete and said construction will begin by September.
In a July 3 letter to TDEC Commissioner David Salyers, Horner stated that the information submitted in the original landfill permit application approved in 2010 remains accurate, with the exception of one new stream that has been identified within the landfill buffer. The stream is located on the northwest side of the project, outside the proposed 24-acre landfill but within the 200-foot buffer. According to information provided by Horner, that stream has developed since 2010 and would be relocated beyond the required 200-foot buffer.
According to Horner’s letter, the engineering firm Fisher Arnold performed a groundwater survey in March 2025. The letter stated that TDEC’s census of water wells revealed no drinking water wells within one mile of the proposed landfill, but a drive-by performed by Fisher Arnold found some wells within one mile of the landfill. None were located within 500 feet of the landfill, the letter stated. All were located cross-gradient or upgradient of the proposed landfill, meaning upstream, essentially, and will not be impacted by the landfill, according to the letter. State law requires that any well serving as a source of drinking water for humans or livestock be located at least 500 feet from a landfill.
Provided as an appendix to Horner’s re-certification letter was a memo from Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. to George Hyfantis — the engineer originally hired to design the proposed landfill in 2010 who is also contracted by Horner now— regarding process on the Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP) issued by TDEC in 2012. The ARAP was a source of disagreement between Horner and Huntsville Mayor Dennis Jeffers at last week’s coalition meeting, indicating that might be an angle that the coalition will pursue through the attorney it has hired in an attempt to stop the landfill.
The ARAP required that Roberta Phase II purchase 1,417 credits from the Tennessee Stream Mitigation Program — a process that allows wetlands to be legally altered or destroyed during construction projects by investing in the preservation of wetlands at another location within the same watershed.
According to CEC’s letter, a survey was performed in February 2024 and little has changed with regards to the property in question. However, there have been changes in the wetland mitigation process in the nearly decade-and-a-half since the original ARAP was issued.
CEC stated that the ARAP requirements have been met and the wetland mitigation plan will be ready to submit to permitting agencies in September 2025. Fulfilling the state’s guidelines will require the establishment of what is called a “Permittee Responsible Mitigation” project located adjacent to the landfill. CEC referenced a meeting from April 2025 that included a TDEC representative, among others, and apparently concluded that the proposed PRM would meet the state’s guidelines.
One question that remains is how the new landfill will treat its leachate. The Independent Herald reported last month that Oneida Water & Wastewater — which serves the area around the proposed landfill — may not be able to treat additional leachate.
In a letter dated Dec. 17, 2024, Oneida Water & Wastewater indicated to Jim Eyre — vice president of Adair Realty LLC, an Atlanta-based firm that is associated with the landfill venture — that it could handle the landfill’s proposed leachate flow of 250,000 gallons per month. However, the town said that its ability to do so “is contingent upon advancements in treatment processes or the implementation of required pretreatment measures to manage the projected leachate flows…” and adds that the terms and conditions would need to be defined “in a mutually acceptable agreement between both parties.” That agreement has not been reached.
The town currently treats an average of around 130,000 gallons of leachate per month from the existing Volunteer Regional Landfill at Bear Creek.
At last week’s meeting, Oneida Water Manager Steve Owens said Volunteer Regional’s leachate is about all his system can handle, and he did not feel the town would be able to accept leachate from the landfill — leading Horner to reference the December 2024 letter, and Owens to counter that the letter included the contingency statement.
In his July 3 letter to TDEC, Horner stated that he has obtained “updated permission to discharge into the Oneida Sewer System,” though he noted that “pretreatment discharge standards are yet to be established…”
As indicated both in the July 3 letter to TDEC and at last week’s coalition meeting, Horner has a back-up plan in place to truck leachate to Safety-Kleen, a Knoxville-based environmental firm that specializes in the treatment of landfill leachate and other environmental wastes. According to a supplemental letter from Safety-Kleen that was included in the information Horner provided to TDEC, dated that same day, a representative of the company said that Safety-Kleen “will have no issues with the 250,000 gallons/month anticipated volume.”
In addition to the landfill permit re-certification application, Horner also has a transfer station permit application on file with TDEC. That application has not yet been approved by the agency. The planned transfer station is located on the eastern edge of the property being purchased by Horner’s group, along Poplar Lane. As proposed, the transfer station would be located just inside the Winfield city limits.
The town’s board of mayor and aldermen has since adopted an ordinance establishing overlay zoning requirements preventing a transfer station within one-half mile of a residence or one-mile of a school. The proposed transfer station is located one-third mile from Winfield School, which falls inside the Winfield city limits, as well as several residences along Poplar Lane and Conifer Road that are inside the city limits. However, it’s not clear that the overlay zoning requirements could be applied retroactively. The transfer station permit was applied for on May 30, 2025.
The Town of Oneida’s board of mayor and aldermen is also in the process of adopting overlay zoning requirements, which would prevent a landfill within one mile of a residence or two miles of a school. Several residences along U.S. Highway 27 and the southern section of Poplar Lane are within the Oneida City Limits and well inside the one-mile distance. Again, however, it isn’t clear that the overlay zoning requirements could be retroactively applied to the landfill, which was permitted by TDEC in 2010.
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June Sharpe celebrates 50 years at MPHC
June Sharpe celebrated 50 years with Mountain People’s Health Councils on July 1. She currently works in the billing office. June started working for MPHC in 1975 at the Norma Clinic and has worked in many different roles over the years. She’s pictured with MPHC CEO James Lovett.
The Week Ahead
⛈️ Weather: Pretty typical summer weather continues this week, with hot and muggy temperatures and daily chances of thunderstorms. Rain will become likely again by late in the week. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
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📅 Community Calendar
Monday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will offer its walking program, puzzles and games, and massage chairs from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. today and every weekday this week. There will also be Tai Chi at 11 a.m. today and Bingo at 1 p.m. today.
Monday: Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services’ Mobile Health Clinic will be in the Walmart parking lot in Oneida from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering integrated primary care and behavioral health. No insurance is not a problem. Call (866) 599-0466 for more information.
Monday: Huntsville Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and every day this week ($3), except Friday. The Oneida Splash Pad is also open.
Monday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out. Phone: (423) 569-5972.
Monday: Scott County Finance Committee will meet at the Scott County Mayor’s Office in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.
Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 10 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.
Tuesday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will offer Silver Stitches from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today.
Tuesday: The Oneida City Park Farmers & Makers Market will be from 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Call (423) 569-8300 for more information about becoming a vendor.
Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: The Oneida Special school District Board of Education will meet in regular session at 6:15 p.m. at the Central Office Training Center.
Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.
Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.
Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. For more information or requirements, call the church office at 569-8828.
Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Thursday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will offer Senior Meal Connect today.
Thursday: The Boards of Mayor and Aldermen will meet in the Town of Oneida and Town of Huntsville at 6 p.m., at the Oneida Municipal Services Building and the Huntsville Municipal Building, respectively.
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas pipelines are generally safe. They can be damaged by things such as excavation, natural forces and automobile accidents. These can potentially cause a leak. Visit citizensgastn.com.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes in Time tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
◼️ Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
◼️ Tuesday: Echoes in Time (stories of our history)
◼️ Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
◼️ Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
◼️ Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
◼️ Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)