Administrative court rules Brantley County landfill permit unlawful

Permit would have allowed landfill in unauthorized location

NAHUNTA, Ga. — Local residents have been spared construction of a large landfill near sensitive wetlands, schools, and homes in the Satilla River Basin. The Office of State Administrative Hearings on Monday rejected a permit issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division that would have allowed Brantley County Development Partners, LLC to build a 100-acre municipal solid waste landfill south of Highway 82, near the town of Nahunta, without approval from the local government.

The proposed landfill has garnered strong opposition over the past seven years by community members and local officials who contend they were not given timely and accurate information about the project’s purpose and location. Over 9,000 comments were submitted to the Environmental Protection Division in opposition to the landfill. Nevertheless, the Division issued the permit last May. Satilla Riverkeeper, represented by Southern Environmental Law Center, joined the Brantley County Board of Commissioners’ challenge to the permit in administrative court and argued that the developers had not obtained a necessary letter from the Board stating that a landfill located on the south side of Highway 82 is consistent with the county’s solid waste management plan.

The administrative law judge agreed, ruling that while the Board had issued a consistency letter for a landfill, the letter did not approve a landfill on the south side of Highway 82. As a result, she determined the Division’s issuance of the permit was unlawful.

“This victory for the Brantley County community confirms that developers cannot come into a community and mislead the local government and the public on the location of a proposed landfill,” says Chris Bertrand, Satilla Riverkeeper. “Local voices matter, and we are grateful the court heard our call to reverse the permit for this ill-conceived project.”