MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Republic Services filed two motions to dismiss the lawsuit they call “frivolous” filed against them by the city of Murfreesboro back in August.
The lawsuit against the operators of Middle Point Landfill alleged they were responsible for toxic chemicals leaking into the East Fork Stones River and the Walter Hill Recreation Area.
Murfreesboro city attorneys said the landfill accepted all types of waste for years, ranging from industrial and paint sludges, soils with low radiation, metal shavings, and soil contaminated with diesel waste.
They say the material has seeped into local waterways and produced a foul odor resulting in more than 2,000 complaints since the city first opened its complaint portal last year.
The city is seeking an injunction against the defendants where they would be required to halt operations until they can fix the smell and discharge into the river.
Middle Point says they denounce “the frivolous and baseless claims” made against them.
“BFI condemns Plaintiff’s blatant disregard for the use of judicial resources and the legal process by bringing forth a legal claim displaying a clear lack of legal precedent, facts, or merit in a cheap ploy to generate media attention and scapegoat the Defendants.”
Middle Point goes on to say they deny each allegation made by the City of Murfreesboro, but they also suggest others could be to blame for any groundwater runoff.
Their first motion to dismiss names Rutherford County as an “indispensable party” because their landfill operates adjacent to Middle Point Landfill.
They suggest that it’s “more than likely based on proximity and direction of the groundwater flow that the Rutherford County Landfill is the functional source of any alleged discharge to the East Fork Stones River.”
"The City has made baseless allegations about a so-called “spring discharge” of contaminants into the East Fork Stones River. However, the location of this discharge is upgradient of the Middle Point Landfill. Groundwater flow at the Middle Point Landfill is not toward this discharge. The more likely source of this discharge is the adjacent Rutherford County Landfill, which is directly next to the alleged contamination and has historically failed to sufficiently collect leachate from their unlined landfill."
Middle Point officials say the county has for decades, discharged their leachate material free of charge into the Middle Point Landfill on-site treatment plant. They say by forcing Middle Point to stop discharging leachate, they are in effect telling the county to do the same.
If a judge agrees to the motions, the City of Murfreesboro would be in the position of suing Rutherford County in the same lawsuit.
In a statement from Middle Point, they say they've invested $7.5 million in their gas collection and control system, "including the installation of 84 new gas wells and nearly 4,000 linear feet of horizontal collectors. Additionally, the site invested $2.5M into the onsite pre-treatment plant to treat leachate from the Middle Point and Rutherford County landfills."
Mike Classen, General Manager for Post Collection Operations said, “We are doing everything in our power to continue responsible site management. We are proud of the improvements we’ve made here at Middle Point Landfill, and look forward to continuing to invest in our community.”
Before the lawsuit, NewsChannel5 Investigates obtained an exclusive video that showed how gases escaped the landfill. Some said those same gases only made the odor worse. The footage showed flare stacks meant to burn off harmful gas that some said was hardly doing the job.
In total, the landfill expanded to 207 acres of fill space located inside a total 803-acre parcel with support facilities, according to the lawsuit. Earlier in 2021, the expansion of the landfill was voted down after pushback from neighbors and city leaders. In 2022, Rutherford County officials proposed no longer accepting any kind of waste to the landfill.
