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Screven County hearing draws neighbors’ objections to Atlantic Waste Services landfill proposal
Summary
At a Jan. 2 public hearing in Sylvania, supporters said Atlantic Waste’s landfill proposal complies with the county’s Solid Waste Management Plan, while residents and groups raised concerns about truck traffic, groundwater risk, odor, pollinators and community impacts.
A public hearing Jan. 2 before the Board of Commissioners of Screven County drew residents and local groups to comment on Atlantic Waste Services, Inc.’s conditional use permit application to build a municipal solid waste disposal and recycling facility on Louis D. Newton Road in Sylvania.
Attorney Frank Jenkins told the board the hearing’s scope was limited to whether the application is consistent with Screven County’s Solid Waste Management Plan and Chairman Will Boyd limited public remarks to five minutes. Proponents including Ben Wall and Steve Harbin of Harbin Engineering argued the proposal conforms to the county’s plan, that state, federal and local laws and ordinances would be followed, and that the site provides “more than 10 years of capacity” while offering lower disposal costs to the county.
Opponents raised a range of technical and quality-of-life concerns. Noble Boykin said the SWMP requires consideration of quality-of-life issues and warned local roads would not sustain heavy truck traffic, that additional right-of-way would require owner permission, and that nearby historic communities and churches could be affected. Don Stack of Ogeechee River Keepers questioned inconsistencies in the materials provided about landfill size and capacity, raised potential on-site well and groundwater contamination risks, and said submitted analyses appeared to be estimations rather than definitive studies.
Other residents and speakers flagged zoning and permitting questions, airport compatibility, notification to adjoining landowners, leachate and liner leakage risks, and local safety. Alan Stewart said the county’s zoning lacks provisions for a recycling center and noted air-quality, notification and traffic problems at key intersections. Russell Water of the Airport Authority asked to be kept informed during the review. Sharon Stewart warned that insecticide use at landfill sites could affect local honeybee producers. Several speakers, including Donald Macharavitz, asked how increased heavy-truck traffic would affect county roads and weight limits; others cited narrow roads and school-bus safety as concerns.
Residents submitted printed materials to the board and asked what mechanisms would ensure that any inconsistencies discovered during review would be disclosed and addressed. The hearing record shows public comment focused largely on potential environmental, traffic and community impacts rather than procedural support for the application.
Chairman Boyd closed the public comment period and adjourned the meeting at 10:13 a.m. The transcript does not record a formal vote or a board decision on the conditional use permit at that meeting.
