Marion County officials work to establish new landfill agreement

Marion County is attempting to erase a $134,000 debt it has with the Griffin Brothers, contractors who operate the Red Bluff C & D landfill site. Committee members want the Griffin Brothers to terminate any prior agreements and establish a new agreement that would forgive the debt. Marion County Council Committee 2 discussed the agreement at its June 16 meeting.

The county earns 12.5 cents per ton of accepted waste at the facility, County Attorney Chuck McLain. That tipping fee amount is from a 2004 agreement for the Griffin Brothers to pay Marion, Mullins, and the county, he said. The money the county has earned from the fees, however, has been offset by the debt the county owes the Griffin Brothers for litigation costs related to a Britton’s Neck landfill, McLain said. That debt has been reduced by only $10,000, he said. To eliminate the debt, the county can continually provide cover dirt for the site, McLain said Ron Gilkerson of Griffin Brothers told him in a meeting.

The county would charge the Griffin Brothers a fee for each load of dirt to offset the debt, McLain said. One load of dirt equals about $150, he said. One of the big elements in the 2007 proposal is the 25-acre Daniels property site, adjoining the landfill site, could be gifted to the county and provide extra space and cover for the landfill, McLain said. Estimates show a needed 104,000 cubit yards per year to maintain cover for the facility, County Administrator Tim Harper said.

“If we continue to provide coverage we have to find it throughout the county,” he said adding that the county may have to dig a pond in Sellers or Temperance Hill. Tom Shaw asked if the company could provide its own cover materials, which McLain said is a proposal the county can take to the Griffin Brothers. Their issue is they think they’re owed $134,000, McLain said. The Griffin Brothers attempted to create a landfill in Britton’s Neck, but after the process started, the county “pulled the plug on the process,” by not allowing the necessary permits, McLain said providing background on the project. The company fought the process legally.

In the midst of a lawsuit, the 2004 agreement was crafted. Part of the agreement allowed the Griffin Brothers to oversee the Mullins site and also gave them the rights to pay tipping fees to the county and Marion and Mullins, McLain said. In the end, the Griffin Brothers still had a landfill operation to make money and a way to pay back the company’s debt. The Griffin Brothers originally attempted to start a landfill in Britton’s Neck, off S.C. Highway 908, McLain said. John Taylor, who owns the Carolina Sands sand mines, owns the property, but the Griffin Brothers had a contract to buy the land. That contract was contingent upon the Griffin Brothers acquiring the proper permits to start the landfill. When that didn’t happen, Taylor retained his property and is attempting to get a DHEC permit for the Britton’s Neck landfill.

Council member Allen Floyd said he had some concerns because the Griffin Brothers have not sent information the county has requested. With Horry County bringing truck after truck to the landfill, it won’t take long to fill it up, Eloise Rogers said. State law now allows industrial debris at landfills, Harper said. What is supposed to be a 20-year landfill, could easily become 10 years, he said, adding that the county has not received any yearly reports from the Griffin Brothers. The committee will discuss the issue with full council.