Scott County approves participation in landfill coalition

Jun 30, 2025

a pile of garbage sitting next to a street light — Photo by Katie Rodriguez on Unsplash

HUNTSVILLE | By a 9-0 vote at Monday’s special called session, Scott County Commission approved the county’s participation in a fledgling coalition of local governments that has been formed in response to a proposed landfill at Bear Creek.

Scott County becomes the latest local government to join the coalition, an idea that was born from a meeting of mayors two weeks ago. The towns of Huntsville and Oneida have already joined the coalition, as has McCreary County.

The only affected government that has not yet acted on the coalition is the Town of Winfield, where the board of mayor and aldermen will meet on July 8.

County Commission’s vote on Monday — which came during a special meeting originally called to pass the budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 — happened with little fanfare, following a motion by 4th District Commissioner Shonda Gray and a second by 1st District Commissioner David “Blue” Day.

The only discussion was from 1st District Commissioner David Jeffers, who asked about the authority that will be granted to the coalition. Scott County Attorney John Beaty — who will represent the county on the coalition, along with County Mayor Jerried Jeffers — explained that the coalition can take no formal action; only make recommendations to County Commission.

We’re trying to coordinate to answer questions,” Beaty said. He had earlier told commissioners that the organization is “basically a coalition for the governments impacted by questions and concerns about the landfill to come together and address those.”

Mayor Jeffers told commissioners that any costs borne of the effort — the resolution mentions hiring environmental specialists or attorneys to research and make recommendations — would be equally split between the five participating governments.

“It’s not going to be just Scott County on the hook for it,” Jeffers said.

The county’s resolution is very similar to resolutions adopted by Oneida, Huntsville and McCreary County. Like the resolutions adopted by Oneida and McCreary County, however, Scott County’s resolution does not mention opposition to the proposed landfill.

Huntsville, which was the first government entity to consider the coalition when its board of mayor and aldermen met on June 19, passed a resolution specifically indicating that the coalition is intended to oppose the landfill — stating that the coalition will “research, address, and make recommendations on avenues to pursue in opposition to the new landfill…”

The essentially identical resolutions adopted by Oneida and Scott County, however, strike a more neutral tone by framing the effort in the context of a research and discovery effort.

The resolution adopted by McCreary County goes a step further by stating that its participation is intended to ensure that “the proposed landfill is developed responsibly and sustainably, benefiting all citizens and parties involved.”

The formation of the coalition is just the latest step taken by various local governments since the landfill proposal came to light less than two months ago that attempt to wrangle local control of privately-owned landfills. Scott County, Oneida and Winfield have all approved local participation in the Jackson Law, a 1989 state statute that gives local governments the authority to approve or reject privately-owned landfills within their jurisdiction, and both Oneida and Winfield have passed the first reading of ordinances establishing overlay zoning restrictions for landfills. Winfield’s ordinance seeks to restrict landfills or transfer stations within one-half mile of a residence or one mile of a school, while Oneida’s ordinance states that landfills cannot be located within one mile of a residence or two miles of a school.

It remains unclear whether any of the local efforts can be applied retroactively to stop the proposed landfill at Bear Creek. That decision will likely begin with the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation, which is currently considering an application by Trans Rail Waste Transfer LLC for a trash transfer station at a location along Poplar Lane, adjacent to the planned landfill.

Should TDEC approve the transfer station — and any landfill permit application that may follow — it would be up to local governments, or a coalition of private citizens affected by the landfill, to challenge that decision in court. Should TDEC reject the permit applications on the basis of actions taken by local governments, the legal onus would fall on the developers planning the landfill.

The latter was the route taken by TDEC in 1989, when the state legislature passed the Jackson Law and Scott County quickly adopted it, using it as a basis for stopping plans for the Roberta Sanitary Landfill at Bear Creek. TDEC was in the process of approving the Roberta permit application when the Jackson Law was passed, and chose to pause its process to see what course of action Scott County would choose to take. County Commission voted to reject the landfill, leading Roberta Sanitary Landfill to file a lawsuit against both the county and the Town of Winfield — a suit it ultimately won when a court handed down a decision in 1992 ordering that the landfill be permitted to move forward. The landfill, which is known today as Volunteer Regional Landfill and is owned by Waste Connections LLC, opened in 1997.

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