MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Murfreesboro and regional solid waste officials filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop Middle Point Landfill's latest expansion request, claiming the operators violated state law by bypassing requirements for local approval.
BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee submitted a 600-page major expansion application to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The request includes increasing the landfill's height by about 70 feet, which could add 19 million tons of trash and extend the facility's life by another 14 years.
"Defendant's desired vertical expansion is therefore akin to putting another landfill on top of the currently existing landfill," the lawsuit claims.
City officials argue that under the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, BFI should have first sought approval from the Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board. Instead, they say BFI bypassed these local requirements by applying directly through TDEC.
Middle Point operators say their application follows established industry practice.
"On Nov. 7, Middle Point Landfill operators submitted a permit request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to modify portions of the facility," the company said in a statement. "This is an established industry practice that is subject to extensive, comprehensive review in adherence to state procedures, including a public comment period. If approved, the modifications will help ensure Middle Point can continue to meet the community's need for responsible and cost-effective waste disposal."
Middle Point has submitted multiple requests for lateral expansion in recent years, which the regional board denied. In 2023, the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a final order rejecting Middle Point's most recent appeal and affirming the regional board's denial.
The board and city argue that this latest request is BFI's way of circumventing these orders. They're asking courts to force BFI to comply with obligations under the Solid Waste Management Act.
City attorneys sent a letter to TDEC notifying them that BFI had not taken proper steps before submitting their application.
"Obtaining Regional Board approval is a necessary prerequisite before TDEC processes an expansion application," the letter read. "Moreover, as you know, if any aggrieved person appeals the Regional Board's decision, then the Solid Waste Management Act explicitly bars TDEC from either processing the application until there has been a final adjudication on the merits or issuing a permit in contravention of that final adjudication."
The letter gives TDEC until Friday to respond before attorneys take additional legal action.
TDEC has approved two expansions for Middle Point Landfill over the years, with the latest in 2006, bringing the total footprint to just over 207 acres.
Middle Point operators have stated that, without further expansion, the landfill is expected to reach its maximum capacity in approximately seven years.
City officials say they're more concerned with the landfill's impacts after years of accepting hundreds of thousands of tons of aluminum waste, which when combined with other landfill waste, led to air and water pollution.
BFI and Murfreesboro remain locked in a lawsuit from 2022 regarding alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
Murfreesboro argues that contaminants leaking from the landfill have been found near the Walter Hill Recreational Area and near the intake pipe for the Stones River Water Treatment Plant. City officials say the contaminants contain harmful "forever chemicals" that "have been linked to cancer, immune system damage, and reproductive health risks," along with aluminum and ammonia discovered in the leachate.
Middle Point Landfill operators denied the allegations and have pushed back against Murfreesboro officials, who announced they received their 4,000th odor complaint about the facility, calling the city's statements "sensationalism."
Republic Services area president Rob LaTourette said he cannot acknowledge the existence of complaints from Murfreesboro's public portal because the city has never shared them with the company.
Middle Point Landfill also received what Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland called an "alarming" seventh violation from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in the last 10 months.
LaTourette said the TDEC violations were all minor and quickly corrected. When asked about what TDEC noted was a "major" violation in March, LaTourette described it as leachate from the landfill exceeding a certain level at one sump pump in a "protected, controlled, sequestered area of the landfill."
Murfreesboro City Council members voted unanimously in July to reject a proposed settlement with Middle Point Landfill, choosing instead to continue their lawsuit against the facility's operators. The rejected settlement would have required treatment systems for PFAS chemicals, an odor management plan, and a new joint complaint portal.
Republic Services is now asking a judge for permission to file a counterclaim against Murfreesboro that would require the city to share costs of any necessary PFAS remediation. The motion states that the city "has disposed of waste containing hazardous substances at Middle Point Landfill for decades."
The latest developments follow years of legal battles between Middle Point Landfill and the city of Murfreesboro, involving a lawsuit that was later amended to include more alleged EPA violations.
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