Loudon County town hall debates Matlock Bend borrow‑pit rezoning as officials urge preservation of 'Jackson law'

At a Feb. 17 town hall aimed at correcting misinformation about a proposed rezoning for borrow‑pit access at the Matlock Bend landfill, Loudon County officials and residents discussed contract history, environmental oversight and zoning conditions without taking a formal vote.

Elizabeth Murphy, an attorney who said she has litigated multiple landfill cases and later identified herself as having spoken to Metro Nashville on the same statute, urged the county to "please do not mess with the Jackson law," describing it as "an Uber zoning law" passed by the Tennessee legislature that gives local governments first authority to accept or reject new landfills or solid‑waste facilities. Murphy said the statute exists because the state regulatory agency (TDEC) can only evaluate technical permitting issues — "Your job is to make sure that it doesn't contaminate the groundwater," she said — and cannot consider proximity to schools or neighborhoods in the same way local bodies can.

The town hall focused heavily on the 2022 contract that authorized an expansion process at the Matlock Bend site. Murphy described that contract as "highly unusual," saying the contract initially…