Judge to rule on Marlboro "Megadump" case in March

BENNETTSVILLE- Residents who've waited for more than five years for some resolution in their fight to thwart plans for a massive landfill, will have to wait until next month to discover exactly where the case will stand.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles ordered that attorneys for MRR Southern LLC and SC DHEC, prepare documents and transcripts of facts pertaining to the case, hand them in to his office within the next ten days and said he will then make a ruling on the matter on Mar. 14.

In addition, Nettles asked attorneys for Marlboro County and DHEC, to provide statements detailing exactly what they were asking him to do to resolve the matter.

At issue is a proposal by the North Carolina group, MRR Southern LLC that began in 2007, when MRR announced plans for a landfill that would provide an outlet for trash collected from across the East Coast.

The proposed landfill is on a 1,691-acre site between SC 177 and SC 38 near Wallace. About 1,000 acres would be used for the landfill, according to a plan filed by MRR with DHEC.

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, residents showed up in hopes of winning one of the many legal battles they've faced, as an attorney for Marlboro County asked a judge to effectively order DHEC to reassess its processes. 

The hearing was originally scheduled to take place in November, but was delayed.

The County's attorney, Steve Weber, told the court that he felt DHEC's preliminary consistency determination had several flaws and was based on an old solid waste management plan.

In addition, Weber said that DHEC's determination violated its own internal guidance and that he felt the agency should start the process over again, take into account new regulations and then make a determination on the proposed landfill.

Wednesday, Weber provided testimony that he felt showed that there were several other landfills within a 75 mile radius of the proposed site in Marlboro County, one located in Dillon and several others in North Carolina.

DHEC officials countered that the landfills in North Carolina shouldn't factor into decisions made in South Carolina.

Belvin Sweatt, the chairman of the group "Citizens for Marlboro County," said that he and other residents have gotten used to lengthy court hearings, paperwork and delays over the years and will not falter from their course to keep the megadump out of Marlboro County.

"We've been fighting for five years and the landfill company and DHEC are still fighting us...and it should make everybody stop and wonder what's going on," Sweatt said.

While the landfill meets various legal specifications, the vast majority of Marlboro County residents —94 per cent — voted against the landfill in a 2008 referendum. The current matter deals with DHEC regulations that include a requirement that landfills be located no closer than 75 miles to another landfill.

The proposal for the project was denied in 2009 by Marlboro County Council and the county planning commission. The S.C. Administrative Law Court dismissed two of Marlboro County’s appeals seeking to block the establishment of the landfill in Wallace in July 2009.

A legal battle ensued, leading to various lawsuits and legal actions, many of which designed to block construction of the landfill and even included a federal lawsuit filed by MRR in Florence against the grassroots group, Citizens for Marlboro County in 2010.

MRR claimed the CMC had launched a “smear campaign” against the company.

This latest court hearing reflected what Marlboro County attorneys thought would be their only remedy to stop construction of the landfill.

County attorneys said that if the matter was once again referred back to the Administrative Law Court, that that court would find that the County would not have jurisdiction and would dismiss the case.

Many residents in both Marlboro County and neighboring North Carolina, said they too felt that some action by a Circuit Court could be one of their last hopes to prevent construction of the site.

"The sad thing is that it started in Richmond County (North Carolina) and it came down to South Carolina. North Carolina is appalled by the thought that the only entryway to this megadump is in North Carolina only," said Richmond County, NC resident Pam Dillman.

"We hope that South Carolina (officials) will wake up and see how much they would be destroying their land," she continued.

Judge Nettles said he needed both sides to submit documentation in the case and to further clarify what each side wants as an outcome.

Nettles said only after having an opportunity to thoroughly review that information, would he make a ruling on the case in March.