The deed to the Brundidge Landfill was recorded at the Pike County Courthouse Friday giving ownership to Brundidge Acquisitions, LLC for $4 million.

Rod Morgan, Coffee County administrator, said Morris Armstrong, Brundidge Acquisitions president, and Mike Thornton, Coffee County Landfill manager, have visited the Brundidge Landfill in an effort to address any environmental concerns that may exist.

“The landfill had been idle for about a year, so they [Armstrong and Thornton] were there addressing some of the issues and what must be done to bring the landfill into compliance – up to standards,” said Morgan, who is listed on the operating agreement of Brundidge Acquisitions as the independent manager. “The intent of Brundidge Acquisitions is still to operate the landfill in some capacity, but a lot of factors go into that and some of them are out of our control. There are just too many unknowns right now to speculate.”

The operating agreement of Brundidge Acquisitions, LLC dated Oct. 31, 2012 and signed by Armstrong and Morgan, listed the purpose of the acquisition was “that the landfill be closed in accordance with applicable law.” However, on May 30, 2013, a first amendment to the operating agreement “deleted in its entirety” that section of the operating agreement and was signed by Armstrong.

Morgan said the intent of the original agreement was the ultimate closing of the landfill, not an immediate closing.

“At the same time you open a landfill, you have to have in place a plan for closing it,” Morgan said. “The intent is still to open the landfill in some capacity.”

Coffee County Commissioner Dean Smith said the commission will put together a press release regarding the acquisition of the landfill with Coffee County dollars.

“This issue is still under litigation so I’m not at liberty to comment,” he said. “There will be economic considerations but some work has to be done now because of neglect because the landfill was out of operation for a long period of time.”

Transload America, the company who owned the landfill prior to Brundidge Acquisitions, filed for bankruptcy and closed the landfill in mid-June last year.

The City of Brundidge has been fighting the sale of the landfill since October 2012 when the Coffee County Commission voted to approve using $6 million to back the purchase of the landfill by Brundidge Acquisitions.

Brundidge filed suit against Coffee County, contending that Alabama Code prohibits the acquisition of the Brundidge Landfill by Coffee County because the landfill is more than three miles from the Coffee County border.

Brundidge also appealed a decision by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to transfer an operating permit from Transload America to Brundidge Acquisitions, contending that the landfill purchase violates the host government agreement approved by Brundidge when the landfill was first created.

Court proceedings are ongoing in this case.