Landfill case in court today
Published 3:00 am Thursday, November 13, 2014
Representatives of the City of Brundidge will head to court today for oral arguments in their efforts to reverse the sale of the Brundidge Landfill.
The City of Brundidge has 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.
The City of Brundidge also contends that the attempt to purchase the landfill violates the host government agreement approved by Brundidge when the landfill was first created.
City Manager Britt Thomas said previously that, even if the landfill were within three miles of the border, the Coffee County Solid Waste Disposal Authority would not be able to acquire the Brundidge Landfill without the expressed approval from both Pike County and the City of Brundidge.
Both sides have submitted written briefs to the court regarding the suit, and oral arguments will be heard at 11 a.m. today at the Enterprise Courthouse regarding the decision by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Environmental Commission to transfer the permit for the Brundidge landfill to Brundidge Acquisitions.
City officials question the legality of the permit.
Mayor Jimmy Ramage said in an earlier interview that ADEM tranferred the permit without putting a new host government agreement into effect.
“You’ve got to have a host agreement to protect the city,” he said.
“Every time before when there has been a permit transfer (Waste Away/Waste Management, BFI Allied, TransLoad), we’ve had a host agreement pending the transfer.”
Additional oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 20 in the complaint against Coffee County regarding the purchase of the landfill.