Statement
of Citizens Against Landfill Expansion
September 8th,
2005
Thank
you for coming to our meeting for Banks County citizens – We are here to
continue sharing information concerning R & B Landfill/Waste
Management
attempt to expand the landfill from 485 acres to 967 acres. Banks County has
been
targeted as a regional landfill to supply waste disposal to the State of
Georgia,
North and South Carolina and unlimited areas.
The
2nd quarter Solid Waste Disposal Report dated July 15, 2005 – has a
list of the
counties and States bringing waste to Banks County. A copy of this is on the
board.
The
report showed 217,245 tons of waste was delivered to R & B Landfill –
only
3336 tons were from Banks County. Gwinnett County alone placed 120,389.60 tons
of garbage in the landfill. As you can see Banks County’s resources are being
used up
– but not by Banks County – So I have to ask - Why should Banks County
citizens be
forced to accept waste from all these counties and the contaminants they bring?
A copy
of common contaminants placed in landfills and their health effects are shown on
the
board. Let us know if you would like copy.
Pickens
County S.C. has a contract to dispose of Municipal Solid Waste at the R &
B
Banks County Landfill and anticipates using the facility for the next 25 years
– Pickens
County has stated they will NOT allow expansion, relocation, or any new
MSW Facility
to be located inside Pickens County. So, as more and more counties close their
doors to
landfills you begin to see why it’s so important for landfill owners to secure
more and
more land where ever they can to continue making money. Small rural counties
make
great targets because landfill owners think they will get little to no
opposition and the
county officials will be glad to get the tipping fees.
If
you add 35 years to the 50 additional years anticipated with the 482 acre
expansion –
that means a possible 85 years to dump –no one knows what – in a supposedly
“State of
the Art” landfill with so called environmentally safe liners to keep toxic
leachate out of
Banks County’s springs and streams, with no one that can say for certain, how
long the
liners will last but guess maybe 15 to 18 years.
this.
Is
that long enough for us now or for future generations? What is there to keep
even
further expansion from taking place when the adjoining property owners are fed
up
with the smell from decaying waste, methane gases and traffic problems and
they
cannot sell their property to anyone else but the landfill?
Also
if Banks County officials allow R & B Landfill any expansion whatsoever,
even
if under the landfill owner’s pretense of needing only the dirt, they can come
back later
to say they are being denied the full use of their property and still threaten
to sue again
to keep dumping on us!
The
garbage business is big money and the companies intend to stay in business a
long, long
time and it’s up to us to say
enough is enough and we don’t want everyone else’s garbage
dumped on us!
What
limits are there to how much land can be used for landfills or landfill
expansions
in Banks County? The property around the landfill can be used for forestry/
timber
products, farms to produce chickens and cattle for food or for homes for the
many
people that moving our way.
No
expansion whatsoever should be acceptable! 967 acres and 85 years to dump
on
Banks County is too much!
Some
of the Banks County residents near the existing unlined landfill site #1 are
still
on well water and are unaware that methane gas contamination was found at that
site
or that they need to be testing their water for possible Volatile Organic
Compounds
(VOC) contamination. These findings prove that this is and will be an ongoing
safety
issue. A copy of the letter concerning the contamination is on the board.
Other
Banks County citizens near the landfill were connected to the county water
system.
Connection was paid for by Waste management because of well water
contamination.
I am told they were required to sign a waiver concerning the matter. Banks
County
needs adequate protection of groundwater.
Other
health and safety issues associated with landfills are gases. Concerns are;
possible
explosion, asphyxiation hazards, issues related to odors emanating from the
landfill and
low level chemical emissions. Landfill fires are also a safety hazard. Methane
gas can and
does migrate above and below the ground level to other areas and controlling the
migration is
absolutely necessary for the protecting the environment. When methane gases are
burned
off, toxic chemical gases are also released in the air according to my research.
Because
of these concerns, Banks County citizens must stand together to oppose any
further landfill expansion. The unconcern for our environment by Waste
Management
has been shown by their application for a variance to disregard the many springs
and
streams on the expansion site. It was of such concern, that a moratorium has
been
placed on stream buffer variances according to EPD.
The
use of this property is NOT the only and best use for property located within a
3 to 4
mile radius of I-85 Exit 154. This is the only exit from Atlanta to the South
Carolina line
that has not been developed. We only need to get the infrastructure (sewer and
water) in
place for development to begin. Why not encourage industry that will actually
provide
jobs for the people of Banks County.
The
landfill property can never be used for business or recreation unless you want
the
risk of being burned or harmed by the contaminants left in the ground.
In
1999 an 8 year old girl was burned on her arms and legs due to a playground
located
on an old landfill site. Other incidences have been reported. A copy of this is
on the board.
What
business will want to locate on or near this facility with the problems that it
may
pose? What can this property ever be used for again?
How
long will the methane gases continue to be released from the landfill?
What
happens once the landfill owners use up the land and leave?
The
people living around the landfill that are affected now and our children,
grandchildren and other innocent people will also be affected.
than we will ever know or understand.
The
BOC has continued to tell the citizens they want what is best for Banks County.
And
we continue to hear their recording - because of threats to sue from Waste
Management.
Are we supposed to allow anything or anybody the right to do as they please in
our
county just because they threaten us? Nowhere in the Banks County Zoning
Regulations
does it state that approval or denial of any zoning request depends on whether
the
requesting party will sue. Yet the county Board of Commissioners (BOC) continues
to
tell the citizens this will be the basis for their decision.
County citizens the truth – that’s all we have asked from the beginning.
I
was told by concerned citizens of Banks County that the BOC has not returned
their
phone calls and the BOC claims only 15 people have called opposing the
expansion.
The majority of people I’ve spoken to are against any expansion. We’ll see
at the
commissioners meeting just how many.
Regardless
of the ruling by the Planning commission September 12th, it is
very
important that you still attend the commissioners meeting on the 13th.
The meeting
has been moved to the Banks County High School auditorium at 6:30 p.m. and
you
must sign up to speak.
According
to an article in the May 25, 2005 issue of the Banks County News, the
BOC chairman was stated as saying the BOC “has got to weigh revenue versus
quality of life and environmental issues associated with this, I’m going
to do what
is best for the county, despite what my own feeling are”.
Tell
us Chairman Hart – Just how much is quality of life worth to you?
that if the Banks County Commissioners allow this expansion, they will have sold
out
the people of Banks County all in the name of big business.
According
to an article from Taliaferro County, Ga., The chairman and the two other
members of the commission spent 12 hours in jail as a last ditch effort to
protest a
1,000 acre landfill that had a construction permit from the EPD. This county did
not
have zoning or land use plans at the time but stated that the harmful
environmental
effects of the landfill would create runoff into a nearby river and into the
drinking
water for thousands of people downstream. They
believed that their fight was well
worth the cost.
Banks
County currently has zoning in place, but the BOC has continually ignored
recommendations from the planning committee to protect the validity of those
rules.
The recent rezoning of ARR property on Sims Bridge Road to M1 status in Mr.
Hart’s
neighborhood is one of them. I was also informed that Banks County’s Good
Ole
boy system is alive and well.
It
seems that this is a zoning issue and we are not obligated to allow any
expansion
as referenced by the RDC statement. Only if the BOC puts the measures in
place to
allow expansion - will expansion take place.
Will
Banks County change the Comprehensive Plan, including their Existing and
Future Land Use Maps, and its Solid Waste Management Plan to accommodate
landfill expansion?
Banks
County is currently ineligible to receive grants, loans and permits under
the Solid Waste Management Program because they have failed to update the
county SWMP.
What
happened to the 15 member solid waste advisory council that was supposed
to
advise the BOC and keep the public informed on SWM issues? Banks County
Clean
and Beautiful was in charge of informing the public and advising. The person
that
seconded motion for our county to accept a landfill expansion at the RDC
meeting
was one of our very own citizens and the same one working on the Clean and
Beautiful
committee. Are these the people we want representing us?
If
our future land use and waste management plan needs updating – it needs
updating
to protect our county from future expansion, not to allow future
expansion.
If
the present BOC cannot conduct business on behalf of Banks County citizen’s
to
protect them, then they all need to resign immediately.
to the BOC of Banks County that the citizens are tired of being ignored when we
are
pleading for help to fight something that is detrimental to the people that live
in
Banks County and some things are NOT worth money. You can’t buy someone health
back.
Why
has the BOC tried to convince the citizens of Banks County they must allow
a
landfill expansion of this magnitude? Is
it really about a past lawsuit that they will
not allow us to see and now we hear that it is missing from the archive files in
Atlanta
when someone went to pick a copy up – seems something is up! Tell us what’s
going on
– we’re listening!
Does
the BOC care what the people of Banks County want to do? Banks County
citizens have the right to say whether or not they are willing to fight an
expansion.
If the majority of the people in Banks County oppose this landfill
expansion then
why are we not represented by our BOC?
Georgia
Code #12-8-25.4. states:
"(a) As provided for in Code Section 12-8-21, it is the policy of the
State of Georgia to
assure that solid waste facilities do not adversely affect the health, safety,
and well-being
of the public and do not degrade the quality of the environment. The General
Assembly
finds that an excessive concentration of solid waste facilities in any one
community can
adversely affect the health, safety, well-being, and environment of that
community and
impose an onus (task) on the community without any reciprocal benefits to the
community.
The purpose of this Code section is to provide a limited degree of protection
against any given community becoming an involuntary host to an excessive
concentration of solid waste
facilities."
If
this is not excessive waste – I don’t know what would be. 85 years or more
of
dumping waste from all over Georgia, North and South Carolina and beyond
is
unfair and an environmental disaster for our area.
M1 zoning for only the expansion site? Site #1 has been closed. Keep in mind
Site #2
is a nonconforming use and is not part of the rezoning request.
This
would be the 3rd siting of a landfill and is an
expansion of the present landfill.
The proposed expansion property does join site #2 landfill- presently in use.
The
reason they are not trying to rezone site #2 is because present zoning for
nonconforming
use does not allow for expansion.
Residential – The area is made up of farms and homes – Any rezoning for a
landfill
is inconsistent with the present use and zoning. Site #1 is M1 but was never
voted to
be M1 but was allowed because it was there before Banks County zoning became
effective.
We
have zoning in place to protect our county so why are our officials not using
it?
Is it the revenue?
Section
404.3 of the revised zoning ordinance for Banks County - adopted 1/11/05
states: A Nonconforming use may not be expanded, extended or enlarged or have
its
value increased or enhanced.
Banks County, Georgia, the public health, safety and general welfare demanding
it.
The protection is there – Why is the BOC failing to use it?
We
live in an area that has so much to offer and unlimited potential - and this is
the
best use for our resources? Who are the people making the decision for Banks
County
to be the Dump County?
Our
BOC was not present at the RDC meeting concerning the landfill expansion;
however positive impact was sent in a report.
The
minutes from the meeting reads:
"Harrison
Tallant, Chairman of the Planning Committee, reported that the Committee met
earlier today and reviewed DRI #810 project, a proposal for expansion of the
R&V Landfill in Banks County.
Although
GMRDC staff recommended that the project be found “not in the best interest of
the state”, the Committee determined that the project “is in the best
interest of the state only with conditions that Banks County update its
comprehensive plan, solid waste management plan and related ordinances.”
Mr.
Tallant moved that the Board adopt the recommendation of the Planning Committee
in finding the project “in the best interest of the state” with the above
stated conditions. Leslie George seconded the motion.
Frank
Ginn, County Administrator of Franklin County, said that he has had a lot of
experience with landfills and no one really wants one in their community. He
recommended the approval of the R&B Landfill project stating, “It is
better to have a regional landfill in one place than for them to crop up in
everyone’s backyard.” He said
that one-half or maybe 100 percent of the people in the Georgia Mountains region
has waste that goes to the R & B landfill. He continued that he is
personally in favor of the landfill project and that his Commissioners would
like to see the landfill stay in Banks County.
Mr.
Lewis asked GMRDC Planning Director Tom O’Bryant to explain why he and other
staff found the project “not in the best interest of the state”.
Mr.
O’Bryant explained that when the staff reviews a DRI, they ask several
questions. One of the things they observe is if the project is consistent with
local government planning. They found that the comprehensive plan for Banks
County has not been updated since 1991 or 1992 and the solid waste plan has not
been updated. With these
inconsistencies, the staff had no choice but to make the determination of “not
in the best interest of the state”. However, he continued that the project is
consistent with regional policies, goals and objectives and GMRDC’s regional
work plan. In talking with the Committee, he said it was agreed that it would
be good to push the county into updating its plans, although the county is not
required to do so until 2007.
Mr.
Lewis commented that it is not abnormal for the staff’s decision to differ
from that of the Planning Committee. The staff’s decision was based strictly
on what was on paper. He said the staff will go along with whatever the Board
approves.
Question
was called. The motion was carried without opposition.
**********************************************************************************
How
does it make you feel to know that everyone is so glad to let Banks County be
their very own personal dumping ground and it doesn’t even have to be in their
county, backyard or neighborhood! This has been planned for some time – all
because other counties don’t want the garbage and have refused landfills to be
placed in their own county – including Franklin County. A lot of other people
may think Banks County citizens will sit by and allow them to dump on us but I
say we will NOT take this lightly nor we just sit by and allow it to happen!
It
seems that the BOC is unconcerned about what is even happening - No BOC
member
was present at the public meeting to discuss corrective measures at Site #1 of
the landfill
and no BOC member was present at a countywide meeting to discuss the concerns
of
citizens in Banks County for the landfill expansion. A
couple of people have said the
landfill owners are “good neighbors” and “good citizens” – We all know
they are
speaking of the revenue that the county is receiving from them - But the
owner’s don’t
even live here and I don’t think the adjoining property owners are calling
them good
neighbors. I just keep hearing about the smells, noise, water and traffic
problems and
the adverse impact on selling their property.
WHY
are our elected officials so unconcerned about what the impact will be on
our
people and our environment with a landfill expansion? Where are the studies and
public
input that should be allowed?
According
to the original agreement with the county and R & B Landfill – our
county
was never supposed to become the host for waste across the Southeastern United
States
– but look what our county officials are allowing to take place.
R
& B landfill is a Subtitle D – CERCLA approved – What does this mean? The
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
was designed to help
clean up inactive hazardous waste sites. It also requires industries to disclose
to their communities
what hazardous substances they use and store. CERCLA authorized EPA to remediate
polluted
sites and created Superfund to pay for site cleanups when there is no clear-cut
responsible party.
EPA can pursue potentially responsible parties to make them pay for response and
remediation
activities.
Waste
Management is supposed to monitor their landfill sites 30 years after closure
– Will they
still be around then and will they clean up their mess? Look at the articles
provided from
www.stopwmx.org and see what you think!
Subtitle
D regulations are supposed to “promote” environmentally sound management of
solid
waste. The word “promote” was used - not “protect” – there is no
protection against problems
that can occur. How
will we be protected from chemicals carelessly discarded in everyday garbage?
There is no one checking each truck load of garbage to ensure unsafe
items are kept out of the landfill.
There is a list of common contaminants on the board.
This
landfill expansion should be denied on several factors:
(1)
It does not meet zoning requirements
(2)
It does not meet future land use guidelines
(3)
It does not meet Banks County Solid Waste Management Plan guidelines
(4)
It does not meet DNR site acceptability regulations
Also,
another important factor is that no environmental impact study has been provided
for
review. Impact studies are needed to protect our environment and its springs,
streams and wetlands, threatened and endangered species, site compatibility with
surrounding land use, storm water
management, historic places and artifacts.
There
are many springs and streams on the expansion site. The landfill currently does
not have
a Storm Water Management plan for this project and the proximity to explosives
storage facility
that would adjoin the expansion site should be a concern since the methane gas
can migrate and
flares are burning off the gases.
There
are also many other studies that should have been demanded before even
considering such an expansion of this size or any size if we are to protect our
resources and the health of Banks
County citizens.
requested. These studies are necessary to understand the full
impact to our county and its citizens.
The
current Banks County Solid Waste Management Plan states: Other unsuitable areas,
according
to the DNR site acceptability regulations, include locations within a ½ mile
distance from areas in
which wetlands are located and floodplain areas.
It
also states, that Banks County will not permit landfills within a 2 mile radius
of the Homer City
limits, Hudson River, significant ground water recharge area, any site, road or
building on the
National Historic Register. Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church is on the National
Historic list and is
located on Hwy 51 also known as the Old Federal Road. These sites that need to
be checked.
Item
3.2
stated that waste was to be reduced not increased and that this was to be
accomplished
by recycling – which has not been encouraged or made convenient since it is
not profitable. No
education and public awareness has been encouraged.
Item
3.3
Disposal Facilities stated:
By
1993, no privately or publicly owned MSWL landfills will be operating inside
Banks County.
The County will contract for waste removal outside of the county. It is
anticipated that in the
future Banks County will be a member of a regional solid waste authority.
Little
did we know we had a bull’s eye on our back to be “The” Regional Landfill
of Northeast
Georgia.
Banks
County presently receives approximately $1 million dollars in tipping fees from
the landfill
with promises of possibly more according to an article May 25, 2005. So
what are all the promises
made to Banks County by Waste Management? Why has the county refused information
to citizens
regarding the dismissed lawsuit? What is there to hide? Why should Banks County
citizens be
forced to accept 967 acres of toxic waste?
Why
not use the landfill tipping fees to pay for legal cost to fight them? What
better way to use
that money?
accept trash for the profit of WM at the citizen’s expense.
is required by the State and is considered the minimum to pay for tipping
fees.
Regardless,
this expansion will cost the county one way or another – either we pay to
fight now
or our future generations pay - suffering the consequences to their health by
contaminating our
water and polluting our air. Our roads are overburdened by trash trucks that I
am told are
constantly fined for being overloaded.
You
may be asking why we should be fighting to stop the landfill expansion. I’m
sure all of you
have a reason – I have been in this county for almost 30 years – There are a
lot of residents that
have been here a lot longer – They have their blood, sweat and tears in their
farms and land –
This is the land they love too. I look around and see the beautiful scenery here
in the foothills
of the Northeast Georgia Mountains – I see the rivers and creeks, some of the
them with cascading
waterfalls, I see the rolling pasturelands and the farmers as they tend their
cows and chickens to
provide food for others, I see the many people young and old that came here to
raise their family
or retire to a place known for it’s rural atmosphere and kind people –
Then,
I see danger – the danger of a corporate giant breathing down our necks to use
up Banks
County resources and to poison our land – all in the name of the mighty
dollar. I think that is
worth fighting for….
Tammy
Purcell – Homer, Georgia
C.A.L.E. – Citizens Against Landfill Expansion
PR1REALTY@aol.com
The
citizens of Banks County have made it clear we will not stand by while our
county is
threatened by a company that is represented by people that do not live here and
only want to make
money at the expense of our health and destroying our natural resources.
We
have joined forces with ACE to battle for our rights to live in a clean and safe
environment. It
will take every one of us to stand side by side to fight. Remember David
defeated Goliath.
(1) Banks County must update its Comprehensive Plan, including their Existing and Future Land Use Maps,
and its Solid Waste Management Plan to reflect that these types of developments exist and are anticipated
within
the community.
(2) Banks County must also update and amend (if necessary) the current zoning regulations to indicate
an appropriate zoning of Industrial use. This will eliminate current and future inconsistencies in land use
applications
for the subject property.
Return to Home Page