BYLINE: Anna Simon
EASLEY — Nearly 400 northern Anderson County residents protested a proposed construction and demolition landfill in their community Tuesday night at Wren High School.
Residents raised concerns including air, water and soil contamination and dangers of landfill fires and heavy trucks on narrow two-lane Hamlin Road.
The proposed site is on Hamlin Road about a mile north of State 88.
State Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Piedmont, said the county Legislative Delegation is working in opposition to the proposal.
State Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, wasn’t at the hearing but had a letter read that said, in part, “Our county would not be blemished with this type of development. Also, there are environmental as well as economic problems with a landfill in this location.”
Tom Jordan, representing the developer Greenpointe LLC, said that appropriate buffers will be maintained from residences and that only inert materials will be accepted at the landfill. He said that all recyclables will be removed and be recycled, and that the site will include groundwater monitoring wells.
Jim Brown, one of the Greenpointe partners, passed out information as people left the meeting that said. “Unlike other facilities, we are heading in the direction of a processing and recycling facility with landfill capabilities.”
The environment will be protected and reusable material will be produced, according to information from Greenpointe. Cooper and Bryant have introduced bills that would put a moratorium on any new landfill in the state until new Department of Health and Environmental Control regulations now pending, are complete.
Representatives of Anderson County said the county is opposed to the landfill. Councilman Ron Wilson skipped a County Council meeting Tuesday night to attend the hearing. He said he expected that last night the county would vote to put weight limits on Hamlin Road.
Several speakers expressed water concerns. Three and Twenty Creek, which flows near the site, empties into Lake Hartwell, a source of drinking water for a number of cities in the region.
The private landfill has received draft approval from DHEC.
The initial permit application, submitted by Greenpointe LLC two years ago, was denied by DHEC because of inconsistencies with the county’s solid-waste plan. An administrative law court overturned the denial and ordered the permitting process to resume.
According to the agency, the landfill could accept 57,000 tons of debris a year, including steel and lumber, insulation, tires, pipes and other non-hazardous materials.
Paul Wilkie, DHEC Environmental Programs Manager for the Anderson area, has said while public comments are encouraged, the agency’s ability to act is limited by existing laws.
DHEC has extended the public comment period to April 7.
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