by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“Local elected officials’ authority is being threatened by state preemption,” cautioned Shelby White, alerting Tennessee residents to a campaign by lobbyists, corporations, and their legislative partners to abolish the 1989 Jackson Law which gives local residents the final say on whether a proposed landfill is allowed to locate in their community. Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) has launched a counter campaign, “Let Our Communities Act Locally.” During an Oct. 14 webinar, participants heard from Tennessee residents battling efforts by corporate interests to circumvent the Jackson law and establish landfills and battling, as well, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) failure to enforce rules to prevent landfills from contributing to air and water pollution. “Some [government and corporate] entities are saying we’re in a [landfill shortage] crisis, and the local jurisdiction has created this crisis,” said Murfreesboro City Manager Darren Gore. “But the cause of the crisis is you’ve got people who don’t run landfills well and a regulatory agency that doesn’t regulate landfills well.”

If a corporation requests TDEC permitting for a landfill, in a county or municipality with the Jackson Law, the decision is deferred to the local governmental authority, explained Mac Nolan, Williamson County Solid Waste Director. Only if the local government gives the project a nod of approval does the TDEC permitting process begin. In counties and municipalities with no zoning that have not adopted the Jackson Law, the project moves forward with no input whatsoever from the community.

Murray County residents are battling a 1,300-acre landfill at a site located only 1,000 feet from the Duck River, the drinking water supply for many Murray countians. “The Jackson Law is the only protection we have to fight these things,” said resident Gayle Moore quoting the county mayor. “The Jackson Law is what is going to save us, we hope.”

“The area around the Middle Point Landfill looks like a moonscape,” said Gore commenting on an existing landfill in Rutherford County, the largest in the state. “Every bit of soil and clay has been extracted from around that landfill to provide cover for it.” Rutherford County is fighting two landfill battles, air and water pollution from Middle Point and efforts to locate another landfill next door.

Middle Point Landfill leaches runoff into the Stones River and emits noxious, foul smelling gas fumes containing PFAS, cancer causing synthetic “forever chemicals.” “When you can’t get TDEC even to investigate, you have to file a federal lawsuit,” Gore said. Results are pending.

In Rutherford County’s other battle, the local government sought to block creation of a landfill next door to Middle Point, arguing the Jackson Law adopted by the county government gave officials the right to review the project and reject it. TDEC countered the project was an “expansion,” and the Jackson Law did not apply. A court battle followed. “We were able to keep it from being expanded, but if the Jackson Law goes away, they will expand [Middle Point] into other properties around there,” said Rutherford County resident Candida Lane. “We will be the largest super dump on this side of the east coast.”

According to Gore, proponents of abolishing the Jackson Law argue Tennessee “is a state where we’ve been given too much local authority.”

SOCM offers a toolkit to aid communities who want to see the Jackson Law adopted in their county or municipality. Just over half of Tennessee’s 95 counties have adopted the Jackson Law, as well as several cities.

Monteagle passed the Jackson Law in May of 2023, giving the town authority to approve or block the creation or enlargement of landfills and solid waste processing facilities within one mile of the city limits. The counties Monteagle resides within do not need to adopt the law for Monteagle to enforce it [See Messenger, June 3, 2023].

SOCM Executive Director Austin Sauerbrei urged counties and municipalities that had adopted the Jackson Law to pass resolutions urging the state legislature not to abolish it.

“This is a local campaign,” White said. “It was named ‘Let Our Communities Act Locally’ because it’s going to be the local communities that are either going to protect themselves or wind up with things they might not want in their backyard.”

The LOCAL campaign is organized by local community groups, river conservancies, neighborhood organizations, solid waste managers, and elected officials working to preserve local control over landfill siting decisions. Coordinating organizations include SOCM, Sierra Club Tennessee and Rutherford Forward. Go to <https://linktr.ee/localcampaigntn; to get involved.