Small Town News

Over 170 Attend Turkey Run Opening

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Over 170 Meriwether and Troup County residents were on-hand to tour the Turkey Run Landfill facility prior to its opening on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

Meriwether taxpayers will be happy to know that the Meriwether County Commission was presented with a $600,000 check that will help alleviate the tax burden in the county.

The $600,000 check is the second payment received by the county. The county received a $100,000 payment when the landfill received permits from the Environ-mental Protection Division.

Once the landfill is operational, the county will be paid $2.25 per ton for waste received at the facility. The municipalities of Meriwether will share a .50 cents of every ton and the Meriwether County Water and Sewerage Authority will receive .25 cents per ton to help pay for a countywide water system.

The remainder of the funds will go to the general fund of the county, which commissioners hope will help reduce the burden placed on taxpayers.

"I am proud to have these folks here," said Meriwether Commission Vice Chair Larry Whitlock. "I look forward to working with them and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to know that our citizens will see some tax relief out of this."

"I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Meriwether County for taking the necessary steps to build a strong economic environment here," said Russell Carlson of the Lt. Governor's Office. "I come from a rural community in Mississippi. I did what all of the young people there do. Got an education and moved away to pursue a career. The people of this community realize the importance of bringing jobs here to keep the young people here. More importantly, the people of this community understand that you only want industry that will continue to allow you to live the rural life you have all come to love. I wish this community the best of luck in its endeavor to continue to bring industry and build a strong economic environment."

WHEN THE officials from Waste Management took to the podium, they placed emphasis on safety, the environment and wanting to make the facility something the community could be proud of.

"Whether you were for or against the landfill, we want to show each of you that the right decision was made to allow us to come here," said Jim Trevathan, senior vice president of Southern Group for Waste Management. "We will not always be perfect, but we will always do what is right. I'm glad you all are here today, and assure you that we will allow anyone to tour at anytime. I also live about two and a half miles from one of our facilities and can tell you we will be good neighbors and partners in the community."

"We start every meeting, just like our event today, with a focus on safety and environmental management," said Larry O'Donnell, president and COO of Waste Management. "I assure you this facility, like all of our facilities, will be operated in a safe and responsible manner.

"We don't just have landfills, we have energy facilities and we don't make it by burning coal Or fossil fuels, we make it with methane gas from our landfills.

"We are big on recycling and we recycle about 8 million tons per year.

"At some point, we would like to include this facility as one of our certified wildlife habitat facilities. We already had many facilities that are certified.

MATTHEW HYDE, manager of Turkey Run Landfill, told the crowd, "We have nothing to hide here."

"I have been fortunate to work with contractors and others from the community," Hyde said. "It has been a great experience.

"I'm from a rural community in north Georgia and realize the importance of being a good neighbor and the importance of protecting our environment.

"I want everyone to know that I will always have an open door policy here. I encourage people to come in, talk, ask questions, take tours and just be a neighbor."

HYDE IS extremely proud of the facility and what has already occurred there. He is eager to point out that the major portion of the construction was "completed by local contractors," and that the office building is "very environmentally friendly and very green," meaning the facility was constructed with products that are "environmentally friendly."

He is also eager to point out all the precautions the company has taken to make sure that Blue Creek will not be impacted by landfill, including a truck tire washing unit that will clean the tires to "keep the mud on site and make sure no silt gets into the stream."

He will also point out that the company has even taken precautions to make sure that even rainwater that falls in the area "stays in the area and never touches the stream."

"I assure you, I'm very environmentally conscious and will fight to preserve it," Hyde said.

HYDE ALSO addressed the importance of keeping the community informed.

"We are going to enforce and adhere to every EPD rule and regulation, and in most cases exceed them," Hyde said. "We will also adhere to every portion of the host agreement with the county and will have a continuous video feed to our website so citizens can log on at any time and see what is going on here.

"We want to be good neighbors and do all we can for the community. I assure you, we will always have an open door policy and we will always welcome visitors. We have nothing to hide."

THE INVESTMENT made by Waste Management to build the Turkey Run Landfill is about $10 million, but company officials say that dollar investment is not as important as the investment in the community and have vowed to make safety and environmental issues its top priority.

"In short, we want to do something here to make the community proud and to show this community that the right choice was made to offer us an opportuntiy to locate here."

Larry O'Donnell President and COO Waste Management



Copyright 2009 The Hogansville Home News, Hogansville, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 The Hogansville Home News Hogansville, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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