Troy joins in landfill lawsuit
Published 11:00 pm Monday, November 5, 2012
The City of Troy is uniting with Brundidge in a lawsuit to stop Coffee County’s attempt to purchase a landfill inside the Brundidge city limits.
“It was only right that we draw alongside our sister city,” said Troy Councilman Johnny Witherington at a council meeting Monday.
The council voted unanimously to enter the lawsuit.
Brundidge and the Brundidge Solid Waste Disposal Authority filed a complaint last Tuesday with the Pike County Circuit Court asking the court to declare that the Coffee County Commission, in partnership with Brundidge Acquisitions, LLC, cannot purchase the landfill. Brundidge also asked for an injunction to prevent the purchase.
The city is also asking for a judicial declaration that the purchase of the landfill by Coffee County would violate the “host government agreement” – a document Brundidge reports is necessary for the landfill to operate and prohibits the sale of the landfill without the approval of the Brundidge Solid Waste Disposal Authority.
“We requested that the City of Troy and the Pike County Commission consider joining with us in this because it has such a large potential impact for all of us in Pike County,” said Brundidge City Manager Britt Thomas. “This is important to residents, businesses and industries that produce industrial waste.”
On Oct. 17, the Coffee County Commission passed resolutions authorizing the use of $6 million to acquire the Brundidge landfill.
A previous statement from Brundidge noted that provisions set by state law forbid a county from acquiring property within the boundaries of another municipality. The Coffee County Commission claims that Amendment 772 to the Alabama Constitution allows for the acquisition of the landfill regardless of other state laws.
Brundidge officials believe Coffee County with close or significantly limit the use of the landfill.
Coffee County had previously made a $4 million offer on the property owned by Transload America, but the company filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey on June 20.
Now, the property is being sold under the provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to determine ownership.