Officials Search For Ways To Shut Down Landfill
This video is no longer available.
A week ago, the Benton County Commission voted to close down the controversial landfill that has had homeowners in an uproar for years. But still, the landfill owned by EWS continued to stay open for business, and said they are not going anywhere. For many in Camden they have tried not to lose hope in their fight to close the landfill they said is toxic to everyone in their area. They said they can not understand why city officials did not just go down to the landfill and shut it down. “If I have a court order directing me to close it down, we’ll shut it down,” said Sheriff Tony King. “I want to make sure I’m in my legal means to shut them down if it comes to that point. I don’t want to be a loose canon.” The Sheriff said, with a pending civil lawsuit between the county and landfill owner and no criminal charges that could be filed, there is nothing more he could do. And he is not the only one who felt like his hands were tied. “You give them a permit and it’s hard to tell them to get out of town because they’ve got a permit, they own the property, own the grounds,” said Mayor Elvin Johnson. And although he wished Nashville would not send their trash to Camden, he thinks they are stuck with it. Mayor Johnson said the resolution the county commission passed to close the landfill did not go anywhere. Ben Brewer from EWS said they are committed to staying in Benton County. He stated the company has done nothing but try to be neighborly, especially when they covered one of the mounds with a liner to reduce the odor. But residents said that does not change how they feel and they will continue to fight to rid their town of the landfill.
