Franklin County Appealing Transfer of Landfill Operating Permit

Franklin County is facing another potential problem regarding the Georgia Renewable Power Plant.

At their work session this week, the Board of Commissioners heard from County Manager Beth Thomas who said she received a letter from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division informing the County that the permit to operate the C&D landfill on Old Federal Road has been transferred.

The County closed that landfill in 2013, but according to Thomas, the EPD never canceled the operating permit as the County thought.

“We have received a copy of an EPD award letter which details the transfer of the active C&D landfill permit from Earth Resources to Metro Green,” she said. “Subsequently, I received an occupational tax certificate application for the new permit holder. According to the EPD, the C&D landfill permit has always been active and that the transfer is currently in effect, but the permit transfer is subject to appeal. I have not approved the tax certificate application nor do I intend to.”

A Limited Liability Partnership called Metro Green LLC has applied for the operating permit and the EPD has approved its application.

Now the concern is that because the old county landfill is right next to the new GRP biomass plant, the new permit holder will start sending garbage to GRP and Commissioner Jason Macomson noted that it could become a real environmental problem.

“This is a real concern because if that landfill becomes active again, they take C&D waste and I would be afraid that would turn up at GRP at some point,” he pointed out. “So, we need to make sure there’s no link between those two as we go through this process.”

Shiela Baker who lives near the GRP Plant in Carnesville agreed with Macomson and said she believes Metro Green was formed for the sole purpose of selling garbage to GRP.

“They can drive from the dump to the GRP plant and never have to use a public road,” she said. “And that’s exactly what they’ll do. They’ll take that old industrial garbage in there, chip it up and drive it across to the plant and burn it.”

“Well, that’s what we’ve got the attorney for,” Board Chair Thomas Bridges said. “We want to block all that; put a stop to it.”

The County has 30 days to appeal and Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday allow County Attorney Bubba Samuels to move forward with the appeal.