The Chancery Court of Davidson County granted the City of Murfreesboro a writ of mandamus, directing that TDEC must cease processing BFI’s application for a vertical expansion of the Middle Point Landfill. BFI tried to circumvent the normal statutory regional board review and instead jumped to filing an application with TDEC for a vertical expansion that would place a 70-foot-high landfill on top of the existing landfill, adding an estimated 19 million tons of waste to Middle Point.
The City of Murfreesboro filed a lawsuit in December to halt TDEC’s review of the application until BFI complied with the Solid Waste Management Act. The City asked the Court to stop TDEC from processing BFI’s vertical expansion application until BFI first submits its application to the Regional Board for local review, including a public hearing where citizens must be afforded an opportunity for public comment. After reviewing the City’s complaint, the Court directed TDEC to halt the review process.
BFI’s proposed expansion comes after the City has expressed numerous concerns regarding the environmental safety of the landfill and its impact on Rutherford County citizens. In the pending federal lawsuit against Republic and BFI, the City recently sent notices of additional and continued violations of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act due to test results showing continued discharges of landfill leachate into the East Fork Stones River, which provides drinking water for Rutherford County and City of Murfreesboro residents.
The complaint for injunctive relief and writ of mandamus is available on the City’s website at www.murfreesborotn.gov/Landfill.
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