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Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, my
name is Thomas Woodham and I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on the
movement of municipal solid waste between states. As a long time member of the
Lee County Council I experienced first hand the closure of our substandard
facility and the development of a Subtitle D facility to replace our old
landfill.
Lee County is a poor, rural, agricultural
community. As such many agricultural by-products such as animal wastes,
pesticides and other agricultural by-products were disposed of in our landfill.
A few years ago, the State of South Carolina told us we had an environmentally
unsafe landfill and that we would have to close it. We made seven proposals to
develop a new landfill, but each one was rejected by the state. At this time a
private waste company approached us and offered to build and manage a waste
facility in our county. We accepted their offer and the Lee County Landfill was
developed with the state’s blessing. Today our landfill takes in 2,500 tons of
waste both from within our borders and outside our state borders. The landfill
is inspected several times a month by state authorities and has never been found
to pose any danger to the surrounding environment.
The benefits we have received from this
arrangement with the private waste company include $1,000,000 in savings on the
closure costs associated with our old landfill, free disposal for the county, a
rebuilt rail line and more than $1,000,000 annually in host fees. The $1,000,000
in host fees we receive represents roughly one-eighth of our annual budget. We
have invested these host fees in a new high school and new industrial park. Our
objective is simple, reinvest the revenues generated by the landfill in projects
designed to improve our infrastructure and thereby better position Lee County to
attract new businesses long after the landfill has reached capacity and closed.
Once the landfill is closed we plan on turning it into a 1,500 acre park for the
citizens of Lee County to enjoy for years to come.
Without the revenues generated by this landfill,
Lee County would not be able to develop the infrastructure necessary to attract
new business in the future because there is a very limited tax base and no
reason to believe that would change on its own. The landfill has been a savior
for the county from a revenue perspective and every member of our county council
is pleased with the arrangement we have with the private waste company. All told
the savings we realized in the closing of the old landfill and free disposal and
the host fees we receive from the facility will put tens of millions of dollars
into our county coffers by the time the landfill reaches capacity. We would not
have been able to generate similar revenues without the Lee County Landfill and
the fees we receive from accepting out-of-state waste.
On behalf of Lee County, I would like to thank
the Committee for letting me share our views with you. I would be happy to
answer any questions.
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