Residents raise transparency, environmental concerns after reports Solid Waste board discussed possible landfill sale

Residents urged Loudon City leaders to investigate reports that the county solid-waste board privately discussed selling the local landfill and expressed worry about environmental and long-term financial impacts.

At the Aug. 25 Loudon City Council meeting, Brian Byers said he believed “secret meetings” were occurring between landfill stakeholders and that the county was considering selling the landfill. Byers told the council he had heard about “back‑room meetings about selling the landfill” and asked the council to investigate (Brian Byers, Resident).

Pat Hunter, who said she has attended solid-waste commission meetings since 1999, said a June 19 meeting’s recording went dark about 30 minutes in and that an executive session followed. Hunter said motions made after the meeting were not reflected in the minutes. She described decisions she said occurred or were being considered: increasing attorney fees (she cited figures she gave as "from $3.80 to $4.80"), hiring additional co‑counsel and expert witnesses, and exploring a possible sale of the permit and land (Pat Hunter, Resident and longtime solid‑waste meeting attendee).

Hunter also raised technical and financial concerns: she said post‑closure responsibility for the landfill is now 50 years, and she questioned whether the stakeholder share of tipping fees would be sufficient to cover closure and long‑term post‑closure costs. She described past contract splits she said allocated most receipts to the private operator (citing 95%/5% under a prior arrangement and describing a later 90%/10% split), and said she feared the current split would not cover 50 years of post‑closure obligations. Hunter said she had seen reports of leachate issues and local well contamination and asked the council to avoid repeating perceived mistakes made elsewhere where large private operators managed landfills (Pat Hunter).

Another resident echoed concerns about permitting the landfill to operate as a regional facility and about approving high‑density development near the site while oversight questions remain. That speaker warned of health and property impacts and said wells in the area were unusable (Resident).

Mayor Harris (chairing the meeting) said Adam Waller, the solid‑waste board chairman, called and told her that the board discussed “the potential of the sale.” She told speakers the topic was not on the city council agenda that night and thanked them for raising the concerns (Mayor Harris, Loudon City Council).

Why it matters: speakers said the questions touch on environmental safety, long‑term taxpayer liability and transparency in how decisions about a major infrastructure asset are reached. Several residents asked the council to press for public disclosure, to ensure recorded minutes reflect actions and to resist any sale that would reduce local oversight.

What happened next: The council did not take formal action on the landfill at the Aug. 25 meeting. Council leaders acknowledged the concern and said the topic was not scheduled for council action that evening.

Context and history: Speakers said discussions about selling or otherwise changing the county’s landfill arrangement have arisen repeatedly in past years (2015, 2016, 2021). Pat Hunter told the council that stakeholders previously were polled about whether to exit landfill operations and the public responses at those earlier times opposed exiting. Hunter said the executive session material related to pending litigation and operational issues such as leachate, mud on roads and bonds for closure/post‑closure care.

Limits of the record: Statements about attorney fees, tipping‑fee splits, leachate, well contamination and specific contract terms are reported as claims made by public commenters at the meeting. The council did not present documents or make findings at the Aug. 25 meeting. The city did not adopt or reject any motion on the landfill that night.

Forward look: Speakers asked the council to investigate and to keep any future deliberations public. Mayor Harris said the subject was not on that night’s agenda; the council recessed to executive session later in the evening for unrelated matters.