Oneida, McCreary County join landfill coalition

Jun 29, 2025

man in green jacket standing beside green truck during daytime — Photo by Carl Campbell on Unsplash

ONEIDA | Both the Town of Oneida and McCreary County, Ky. have joined a growing coalition of local governments that is poised to push back against a proposed second landfill at Bear Creek.

By unanimous votes Thursday and Friday, the two governing bodies passed resolutions authorizing participation in the coalition, which the Town of Huntsville has also joined.

Scott County Commission is scheduled to vote on joining the coalition at a special called meeting Monday, and the Town of Winfield will ostensibly consider a similar resolution when its board of mayor and aldermen meets next week.

Additionally, the Town of Oneida has adopted the first reading of an ordinance that would establish overlay zoning requirements for landfills and approved participation in the Jackson Law — though the latter will likely require another vote next month before it is official.

Following a public comment segment that saw several local residents comment in opposition to the proposed landfill — including Ralph Trieschmann, who is the chairman of the town’s industrial development board and owns Timber Rock Lodge adjacent to the property the landfill is planned on — the Oneida board voted on three separate matters regarding the landfill at its Thursday meeting.

All three matters passed by unanimous votes — however, only three members of the board were physically present. Alderman Jeff Tibbals joined the meeting by videoconferencing technology, but state law does not permit official votes to be cast that way. It was later pointed out that opting into the Jackson Law requires a two-thirds vote of the town’s governing body.

Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones said that the matter will be placed on the agenda for the town’s next meeting. That meeting is scheduled for July 17, though Phillips-Jones had indicated earlier that it might be pushed back to accommodate state requirements regarding public notice. A 21-day notice is required before a public hearing can be held regarding the overlay zoning ordinance. The public hearing must be held before a second and final vote on the ordinance can take place.

In response to a question from the audience, Phillips-Jones said it would likely be impossible to schedule a special meeting ahead of the next regular meeting for the purpose of adopting the Jackson Law, due to the same state-mandated public notice requirements.

The Jackson Law — which has also been adopted by Scott County and the Town of Winfield since the landfill issue came to light earlier this year — requires that the local governing bodies give their approval before a privately-owned landfill can be permitted by the state. It is a state statute that dates back to 1989, and was central to Scott County’s efforts to stop the existing Volunteer Regional Landfill at Bear Creek, though a court later ruled against Scott County and ordered that the landfill permitting process be allowed to proceed. Scott County’s participation in the Jackson Law later expired in 2010.

The overlay zoning ordinance passed by the Oneida board was drafted similar to an overlay zoning ordinance that Winfield is in the process of adopting — stating that a landfill cannot be located within one mile of a school or one-half mile of a residence. At the request of Alderman Mark Byrd, however, Oneida’s ordinance was modified to double those distances — two miles from a school or one mile from a residence. The ordinance would also require a landfill to be located on a parcel of property that is at least 100 acres in size.

Finally, the coalition of local governments is an idea born from a meeting of county and municipal mayors two weeks ago. It was at that meeting that government officials decided to band together in their opposition to the landfill. The Town of Huntsville was the first to vote to join the coalition when its board met on June 19. Oneida became the second at Thursday’s meeting, which had been originally scheduled for June 19 but was delayed one week due to the Juneteenth federal holiday.

The resolution passed by Oneida’s board on Thursday was very similar to the one adopted by Huntsville a week earlier. It states that the coalition is in response to questions and concerns about the proposed landfill, and that its efforts will be to “gather and research information and issues related to the proposed landfill developments and to make recommendations to the local governing boards that the coalition believes to be in furtherance of protecting its citizens, lands and water resources…”

The resolution indicates that the coalition may consider employing environmental specialists or legal professionals to research and make recommendations related to the landfill proposal.

One day later, on Friday, the McCreary County Fiscal Court voted to approve its participation in the landfill coalition. Scott County Commission is scheduled to take up the matter at its special called meeting on Monday, and the Town of Winfield’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen will next meet on July 8.

The Town of Oneida will be represented on the coalition by Phillips-Jones and Tibbals.

While similar, there are some minute differences in the three resolutions passed by the respective governments of Huntsville, Oneida and McCreary County.

Huntsville’s resolution stated that the coalition would research and make recommendations “on avenues to pursue in opposition to the new landfill…” The Town of Oneida’s resolution does not use the word “opposition,” though it is otherwise very similar to Huntsville’s resolution. McCreary County’s resolution stated that the coalition will leverage its efforts and resources to ensure that, “The proposed landfill is developed responsibly and sustainably, benefiting all citizens and parties involved.”

At issue is an effort by developers to develop a landfill and a rail transfer station on approximately 700 acres of property owned adjacent to the existing Volunteer Regional Landfill at Bear Creek.

Knox Horner, who is the face of the landfill effort, was present at Thursday’s meeting in Oneida and took the floor briefly to request a meeting with the board. Mayor Phillips-Jones stated that a work session could be scheduled. Like regular meetings, work sessions are open to the public.

The mayor also presented Horner with a list of questions she said the town has about the proposed landfill. She said the questions were in response to a request from Horner’s attorney to the town for information.

Following Thursday’s meeting, Horner released the statement that he had read aloud to the board at the meeting, stating: “There has been a great deal of public comment about our construction of the Roberta II Landfill. We want you guys, and the citizens of Scott County, to know that we are listening and hear your legitimate concerns. We respectfully request to meet with the Mayor and City officials/staff so we can address these concerns with solutions. We are committed to being a good corporate citizen and a contributing member to the Town of Oneida and all of Scott County.”

Previous landfill coverage:

May 18, 2025: Talking trash: Landfill issue set to become a front-burner issue

May 19, 2025: Residents sound off on landfill, but county’s options appear limited

May 20, 2025: Downtown trash transfer station no longer an option, developer says

May 22, 2025: New details indicate trash transfer station was never close to reality

May 23, 2025: Landfill developer pledges job creation, seven-digit payments to local governments

May 24, 2025: County Commission to move on ‘Jackson Law’ implementation at special meeting

May 29, 2025: Scott County, Oneida and Winfield all rejected the Roberta landfill, but a judge overruled them

June 3, 2025: County commissioners adopt ‘Jackson Rule’

June 6, 2025: Trash transfer station planned for Poplar Lane in Winfield

June 9, 2025: Landfill fight next moves to Town of Winfield

June 11, 2025: Winfield attempts to stop transfer station through overlay zoning