Cheatham County does not currently exercise local approval authority over new landfills under a 1989 Tennessee law that counties may opt into, and county counsel said he will draft legislation to bring the matter back for discussion.

At the Oct. 9 workshop the county attorney explained that Cheatham County has not opted into the statute that gives county commissions a role in approving new landfills. "Cheatham County is not on the list of counties that have opted in to this law. So currently, approval of a new landfill in Cheatham County would be completely up to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation without input from the county," the attorney said.

The attorney told commissioners the statute allows a county commission to require local approval of a proposed landfill, including sites inside city limits (in which case the city would also need to approve it if within a mile of city limits). Commissioners asked staff to draft local legislation to opt into the statute; the county attorney said he would prepare draft language for future consideration and that the commission could discuss it further at a subsequent meeting.

No opt‑in decision was made at the workshop; staff will prepare draft legislation for a future agenda so the commission can decide whether to pursue local approval authority for new landfills.