Halifax Commissioners Say No to Landfill Expansion

Five weeks of worry erupted into elation Tuesday morning as the Halifax landfill expansion landed dead on arrival.

"I would propose that that adoption include the removal of item number six, the public hearing," George Parrish, chairman of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners, said at the meeting.

"We're proud of our land, our little ponds and our rural roads, and we want to keep it that way," says landfill opponent Doris Aycock. "We don't want to become a dumping ground for not only Halifax County but five states."

The private company had agreed to buy the 20-year-old county landfill and pay millions that could have funded schools and other improvements. But commissioners say the vocal opposition convinced them to drop the issue.

"The money certainly was needed, but I think they looked at the long-term effects and the concerns that the citizens had," says Commissioner Eugene Bryant. "The people spoke, and I think we, as a body of commissioners, listened to them."

In a written statement,Waste Managementsaid it respects the "commissioners' leadership and gratefully appreciates the opportunity" it was given. The statement says that Waste Management is proud to have participated in the discussion.

The money that Waste Management would have paid the county to expand the landfill is also gone. County commissioners say they may have to consider a tax increase to make up the difference.