Mobile County holds hearing on proposed Chastain Landfill permit expansion and host-fee offer

The Mobile County Commission held a public hearing on a City of Mobile Solid Waste Disposal Authority application to modify the Chastain Landfill permit to increase the maximum daily intake from 1,725 tons to 5,000 tons and expand the landfill’s service area to include counties in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

Jamie Betbees, presenting for the applicant, said the changes would position Chastain to compete with nearby facilities and offered a host fee of $0.50 per ton on any waste received from outside Mobile County as an additional revenue source for the county. "That would be a constant source of revenue for Mobile County," Betbees said in remarks included in the record.

Commissioners sought clarification about current and proposed volumes and how the host fee would be applied. Betbees said Chastain currently averages about 550 tons per day while the operator’s market studies estimate an additional 150–200 tons per day could result from the expanded service area; the proposed host fee would apply only to tonnage coming from outside Mobile County. Betbees noted that the 5,000-ton-per-day figure is a maximum permit level and said such high daily totals would be unlikely except in emergencies.

Several residents and board members addressed the commission. Richard Hayward opposed the modification, citing local property-value declines near the landfill, concerns about perceived inadequate public notice of prior meetings, and asking the operator to provide direct community benefits (sidewalks, streetlights or free dumpsters). "Not a dime of that money is coming to the community," Hayward said, criticizing prior expansions and their local effects.

Fred Wheeler, a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Board, urged approval and pointed to modern landfill controls and a methane-recovery project tied to the site as environmental benefits. Consultant Jim McNaughton said the City Solid Waste Authority approved the application in April and described a $37 million renewable natural gas project under construction at the landfill.

Applicant remarks emphasized that the landfill’s total acreage (367 acres) and its permitted disposal acreage (153 acres) would not change and that a regulatory buffer of roughly 214 acres remains in place. The applicant argued those facts mean the modification will not affect the visible footprint or property values.

County staff said they will compile public comments, complete a staff report referencing regulatory criteria, brief the county solid waste disposal authority, and return the application to the commission at its first meeting in December with a recommendation for local approval or denial. The commission closed the public hearing; no formal local approval vote was taken at this meeting.