RIDGELAND, Miss. (AP) - The fate of a proposed landfill in central Mississippi is uncertain after people close to the project sent conflicting letters to a state agency.
NCL Waste has proposed using 166 acres (67 hectares) near the Jackson suburb of Ridgeland, with about 89 acres (36 hectares) of that for dumping. It would have been the third landfill in Madison County.
WLBT-TV reported that an attorney representing NCL sent a letter to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on Feb. 2 to say the company was withdrawing all permit applications for the project.
“For a variety of reasons, NCL Waste has decided to abandon this project and pursue other opportunities,” the letter said.
Two days later, the manger of NCL Waste, Michael Bilberry, wrote to the agency requesting that permit applications “be held intact and not withdrawn or rescinded.”
Some people who live near the proposed landfill site opposed the project, saying they worried about the potential for bad smells.
A judge recently dismissed two lawsuits that the waste treatment company filed against the Madison County and its board of supervisors. NCL sought monetary damages and an order requiring the supervisors to move forward with an assessment to determine whether Madison County needed another landfill. Court records said the parties reached agreements in both matters.
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