JACKSONVILLE, Fla — In rural Brantley County, Ga. there are hundreds of acres waiting to be developed, but now the community is opposed to what's being planned for hundreds of acres between U.S. Highway 82 and Georgia 110.
"The people we have talked to absolutely do not want it," Betty Jean Smith said.
The Brantley County Development Partners LLC has filed an application to develop a landfill in the area.
Smith, a longtime resident, and hundreds of others are pushing back.
More than 2,800 residents have signed a petition opposing the project and they're not finished.
"We have multiple other petitions being submitted to DNR this week," she said.
The community is concerned about the potential impact a landfill may have on the environment.
There are two elementary schools adjacent to the property and that has them concerned as well. The Brantley County School Board recently adopted a resolution opposing the plan.
"We have 18,000 residents," said Smith," Brantley County does not have a landfill and we do not need a 223-acre landfill here.
On Your Side reached out to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and was told:
"EPD is currently in the process of evaluating what criteria must be met for this potential landfill to be sited, in the proposed location, and meet all state and federal requirements. This step, referred to as site suitability, is an interim step in the process of fully permitting the facility to be built and ultimately receive any waste. There are two opportunities for the local government(s) to verify that the proposed facility meets their local zoning and solid waste planning criteria. The first occurred when the application was submitted to EPD. The county commissioners at that time signed the necessary affirmation that the project complied with the local ordinances. At that point, EPD began processing the site suitability determination.
If site suitability is demonstrated, the applicant will develop a design and operation plan showing how the landfill will be built in conformance with that site suitability determination. There are a number of factors that influence how long this step takes, but typically it is at least 18 months. Once that has been submitted to EPD, we will go through a thorough review, typically lasting an additional 6 months or more. If it is determined that the plan meets all the requirements, then EPD will begin drafting the permit.
Prior to finalizing the permit, EPD requires a second letter from the local government to verify that the landfill site still meets all current zoning and land use ordinances.
There is still considerable work to be done before a decision is made about whether this landfill will be permitted."
The community has until Jan. 31 to express comments about the proposal. Smith said they plan to give regulators an earful
"Citizens are scrambling to meet that deadline," she said.
The developers have filed a lawsuit against the Brantley County Board of Commissioners as a countermeasure should the application fail.
The complaint is moving through the court process.