By By Kerry Whipple Bean – publisher
The Coastal Gateway Economic Development Authority board did not express an official opinion Wednesday about a proposed landfill in Conecuh County, but several board members individually expressed concerns about the impact of the project on the tri-county area.
Board members heard from Repton Mayor Terri Carter and Conecuh County resident Dr. June Serravezza, who are opposed to the landfill project. Two Florida developers have proposed building a 1,500-acre landfill near Repton that would accept not only household waste from the region but also from all over the country.
The developers have told county officials the investment in the area would be $250 million over the life of the landfill - possibly 30 years.
Conecuh County commissioners voted &#8220no” to the landfill in a nonbinding vote, but if developers make an official application for the project, the commission would have to take a vote within 90 days.
Carter and Serravezza, part of a group of area residents opposed to the landfill, said their group has determined that the commission can vote no on the private landfill provided that the commission provides reasons for their decision.
But Carter said she understood that the CGEDA board is in a difficult position. &#8220We realize you're sitting on a fence,” she said.
The board agreed ask chairman Yank Lovelace of Brewton and director Wiley Blankenship to talk to Conecuh County commissioners about the project to answer the board's questions.
Those opposed to the landfill said one of the biggest problems with the project is that the landfill will sit on or near five aquifers that serve several counties, endangering the water supply for thousands of people if the material from the landfill seeps through the lining of the landfill. Carter and Serravezza played a DVD for Coastal Gateway board members about the scientific dangers to landfill materials.
Landfill developers have said the project would bring 200 jobs to Conecuh County in the first two years, but that the majority of time the landfill is open there will be only 15 jobs at the facility.