By Samantha Harris
Several Anderson-area lawmakers have introduced bills in the state Legislature that would temporarily stop the construction of landfills in Anderson County.
A Senate bill that would place a moratorium only on permits for construction and demolition debris landfills in Anderson County was introduced earlier this month by Republicans Sen. Kevin Bryant, Anderson, Sen. Larry Martin, Pickens, and Sen. Billy O’Dell, Ware Shoals.In response to a proposed landfill in the Powdersville area near Hamlin Road and Old Greenville Highway, Sen. Bryant introduced a bill in February that would place a moratorium on building construction and demolition debris landfills across the state.
If passed, the bill would stop permitting of such landfills until after new regulations from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control have been put in place, Sen. Bryant said.
Rep. Dan Cooper R-Piedmont, has introduced a companion bill in the state House. The proposal also would establish a statewide moratorium.
Sen. O’Dell said he opposes landfills anywhere in Anderson County.
A landfill in the Cheddar community, which Sen. O’Dell represents, has become a problem, he said.
“Several years ago, they expanded that landfill, and they have been bringing waste in from different counties and probably other states, too,” Sen. O’Dell said. “We’ve got enough landfills in Anderson County. There are plenty of other spaces they can use.”
The legislators from Anderson County have rallied to help hundreds of residents near the proposed landfill site who have opposed its construction.
The construction, demolition debris and land clearing landfill would be a privately owned project of Greenpointe LLC and Robert R. Jenkins of Greenville, residents heard at a recent health department meeting.
The suggested project site is nearly 196 acres on Hamlin Road one mile north of where that road intersects with S.C. 88 in northern Anderson County.
If the new regulations that the health department will soon consider are approved, “there would be more reasons to deny the application than there are currently,” Sen. Bryant said.
A permit for the landfill originally was denied by health department officials in 2005, but an administrative law judge threw out that decision because he did not approve of Anderson County’s waste management plan, Sen. Bryant said.
County officials are working to revise that plan, he said.
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