By Amy Clarke, STAFF WRITER
A permit from the Department of Health and Environmental Control could give the green light to a controversial proposed landfill in Powdersville, but some residents are trying to stop the development.
“The citizens in Three and Twenty (precinct) aren’t going to stop on this, and neither am I,” said Anderson County Councilman Ron Wilson. “This is in no way over, and we’re going to fight it as long as we can.”
DHEC intends to issue the final permit for the proposed construction and demolition landfill on Hamlin Road next week, said agency spokesman Adam Myrick. Residents have 15 days to appeal.
Ann Smith, who has been instrumental in the community response, said an appeal was already in the works.
But residents may get another chance to have a say in the decision next month when a referendum vote will be held on a zoning plan for the area.
According to Wilson, a moratorium on land-use permits is currently in place for Three and Twenty precinct pending the outcome of the zoning vote. If passed, the land-use map would not allow for the landfill’s location within the precinct.
Smith said she’s sending out information, posting signs and recruiting area residents for the Aug. 12 vote.
“I don’t think the community is going to bend to this thing at all,” Wilson said.
Opposition to the landfill has centered primarily on environmental concerns, including soil and water contamination from the unlined landfill, damage to two-lane Hamlin Road and declining property values.
Ann Bishop, who got involved after attending a community meeting at Wren High in February, said the proposed location is not appropriate.
“We are not looking at what’s good for this community,” she said.
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