By By Lisa Tindell – news editor
A group of citizens in the Wallace Community may be facing yet another dilemma if a local resident is granted permission to begin a new landfill.
Steve Creamer and environmentalist Hal Lunsford addressed the Escambia County Commission to state their position for the proposed project off Alabama 41.
Although the landfill application has been made, the county commission won't make a decision on the approval of the application for at least a couple of months.
Several residents in the area of the proposed 150-acre site were on hand to voice their concerns over the prospect of having another landfill in their community. Some residents are already concerned about the Timberlands Landfill - which takes in household waste - on Alabama 41.
Creamer said he understood the concerns of the residents in the area but believes the site would be beneficial to the county, the state and the environment.
Lunsford explained Creamer's plan would include a 100-foot wooded buffer between the site and the roadway, virtually making it invisible to those in the community.
The proposed project would create a facility that would receive rock, concrete and wood connected with construction or demolition as well as hurricane debris.
The landfill may be the answer to problems that may arise when the county runs out of facilities to place the kinds of waste he expects to receive, Creamer said.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management will monitor regulations for the landfill, Creamer said.
Citizens have expressed concerns about the possibility of mercury at the Timberlands landfill, but ADEM told the county late last year the mercury levels were safe. A citizens group has filed an appeal over that decision with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Smith said he had a list containing 335 names of other residents in the area concerned about the project.
The Escambia County Commission must follow procedure in cases such as this, commissioner Larry White said.
Stokes said having Creamer and Lunsford make a presentation at Monday's commission meeting had served the purpose he had hoped.
The current solid waste plan in place for Escambia County was adopted in 2004.
In other business, the commission: