A long-simmering fight over a proposed landfill and rail transfer station just north of Oneida is now headed to a Nashville courtroom, as a group of nearby landowners and neighbors asks a chancery judge to hit pause on key state actions tied to the project. Their legal challenge targets the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, its commissioner, and the handling of a 2010 landfill permit that developers are now trying to recertify, all against a backdrop of years of school and park concerns in Scott County.
What the lawsuit says
The complaint, filed Feb. 12, lists Rock Properties International and Ralph and Michelle Trieschmann as plaintiffs and names TDEC Commissioner David Salyers as a defendant, according to reporting from WATE. The suit questions whether state rules were followed on a permit tied to a 2010 approval, alleging there is no record that the required local solid-waste board review occurred before TDEC considered that earlier permit. The plaintiffs are asking the court to review how TDEC has handled the current push to recertify the permit.
Locals vow more legal fights
Opponents say this is only the opening round. The citizens’ group Cumberland Clear, which has been organizing against the project, says it is preparing its own legal challenge and has repeatedly warned that a transfer station could end up very close to Winfield Elementary and nearby youth sports fields. The group has hosted public forums, urged residents to show up at meetings, and pushed people in Scott County and surrounding counties to weigh in as the permitting process moves ahead.
Permit history and who’s behind the plan
The property at the center of the dispute includes a 24-acre landfill permit that TDEC originally issued in July 2010. Developers later sought recertification of that authorization and submitted a separate application for a rail-to-truck transfer station on Poplar Lane. Local reporting by the Independent Herald identifies the company behind the transfer-station filing as Trans-Rail Waste Services, a newly formed affiliate tied to developer Knox Horner. TDEC’s online public data viewers and notice pages show how landfill and transfer-station permits and public-comment opportunities are logged and tracked during agency review.
What officials and developers say
Horner has publicly defended the project, promising jobs and host fees in earlier coverage and characterizing the proposal as a community benefit, according to the Independent Herald. Local governments and school leaders have pushed back, flagging possible water and odor impacts and warning about how close the operation could sit to schools and recreation areas. They have also repeatedly invoked the Jackson Law, a Tennessee statute that gives municipalities and counties a direct say in whether privately owned landfill projects get the green light.
What’s next
The case now moves onto the Nashville chancery docket, where it could trigger a new round of motions and hearings in the weeks ahead. The plaintiffs want the court to decide whether TDEC followed all required procedures in reauthorizing or recertifying the 2010 permit. At the same time, TDEC’s public-participation and permitting pages lay out how residents can submit comments or appeals on solid-waste permits while the state continues reviewing pending applications. Locals can expect more public hearings, additional court filings, and fresh comment windows as both sides dig in for a prolonged fight.
