UPDATE: June 24, 2020

Yesterday evening (June 23, 2020) the Screven County Board of Commissioners did not vote on a proposed regional landfill because Atlantic Waste management pulled its application request. Ogeechee Riverkeeper believes they would have been denied and therefore pulled its request. If approved, the zoning application would have allowed for Screven County to become a dumping ground while a large company endangered the health of the community.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) opposed the landfill development due to its proximity to the Ogeechee River and likelihood of it becoming a pollution source in the future.

ORK partnered with local individuals and grassroots organizations, including Screven County Citizens Against Regional Landfill, Inc., and the law firms of Stack and Associates and Noble Boykin. Over the past 15 months, we compiled data and concerns, and presented our arguments in a unified voice at various proceedings leading up to Tuesday’s scheduled board hearing, at which time a final vote was to be taken.

The final compilation of information, totaling literally hundreds of pages of technical documents from no less than a dozen experts in the respective fields of hydrology, soils science, wetlands, sociology, real estate and economics, was presented in its final form to the Screven County Board of Commissioners and Atlantic Waste on Monday afternoon.

With less than three hours remaining before the vote on its application, after having reviewed the community’s unified submittal, AWS notified the county that it was withdrawing its application and subsequent amended applications.

Our collective, relentless efforts to protect the river and the watershed from dangerous development worked. ORK is grateful for each yard sign, signed comment, and letter to the editor. Together, we have all made sure that it is known to all that Screven County will not bow to multimillion dollar companies looking to make a profit at citizens’ expense. Rather, the continued pressure and engagement in the legal process pressured it to give up the fight.

Well done, all.


Informational Documents

Regional Commission Comments

Solid Waste Management Plan Consistency

Departmental Review for AWS

Letter to the Editor, Sylvania Telephone, June 11, 2020