Ware County hears conditional-use request for Smith Drive waste transfer station

Chairman Elmer Thrift called the Ware County public hearing to order at 4:49 p.m. and introduced a conditional-use permit request for a proposed waste transfer station at 3230 Smith Drive.

Interim Planning Director Dustin Minchew told commissioners the application was first presented in 2022 and was tabled while Ryland and the Development Authority explored a possible land swap; no agreement was reached and the matter was restarted. Minchew said the Ware County Planning Commission reviewed the application and recommended approval and that an Environmental Protection Division (EPD) permit would be contingent on county approval.

Commissioner Leonard Burse asked whether concerns raised by Bailey International Foods had been addressed. Commissioner Jon Tindall said he had met with Mr. Rubenbauer and Richard Lee and that both agreed to meet with the food-processing facility to address current and future concerns. Dustin Minchew and Richard Lee described the distances between properties and between the current buildings; Lee said the new transfer station would be located in the rear corner of the property.

Commissioner Burse asked about EPD conditions. Richard Lee said there are seven conditions that must be satisfied, including requirements governing how the facility is washed. A Ryland representative said a plan is in place for disposal of lithium batteries.

Chairman Thrift invited public comment on the transfer-station request; no members of the public spoke for or against the permit. The commission added the item to the regular meeting agenda for later action.

The hearing on this permit will return to the board as a regular-agenda item; no final county decision was made at the March 10 public hearing.