Jackson County approves 10-year solid waste management plan after public hearing

The Jackson County Commission approved the county's 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan after a public hearing and an amendment to the meeting agenda to consider the item.

Brent Watson, a consultant with LaBella Associates, said Jackson County engaged his firm late last year to update the plan and collected waste-volume data and surveys to forecast needs for the next decade. Watson said the county submitted a draft to county staff in April, then sought an informal review from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), which gave preliminary concurrence. A public notice was published in the Jackson County Sentinel on July 16 to begin the public-notice process and to advertise the hearing.

The plan update documents current collection and disposal volumes, forecasts future needs and identifies actions the county must take to maintain compliance with state planning requirements. Watson said that under state regulation, the county-level plan governs municipalities within the county unless a municipality elects to opt out and prepare its own plan; the cities of Scottsboro and Stevenson were identified in the presentation as having opted out.

The commission voted to adopt the plan by motion and voice vote; no individual roll-call votes were recorded in the meeting minutes. After the county's adoption, staff will submit the plan to ADEM for final review and formal approval.

Caleb Skipper, county staff who assisted with data collection, was thanked by the consultant for helping gather survey responses used in the plan's forecasts. No members of the public offered substantive changes to the plan during the hearing.

The adopted plan establishes the county-level framework for waste collection, forecasting and capital planning for the next 10 years, and is subject to ADEM's final approval before taking effect at the state level.