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CLOUT descends on Cherokee County Council meeting
Wheeler, spokesperson for "Cherokee Landfill Opposition United Together," or CLOUT, addressed council Sept. 17 and returned Monday to raise more concerns about the controversial project. More than 60 like-minded county residents attended the meeting. "Two weeks ago I pleaded for the people of McKowns Mountain," Wheeler said. "(Today) I'm pleading for the people of Cherokee County." Wheeler opened her remarks by stating that South Carolina has become a popular destination for waste haulers. "South Carolina is the sixth-largest state importer of trash," she said. She then questioned the reliability of landfill liners. "Liners are destined to leak," she said. "Anything that would leak through the liner would get to the creek and ultimately into the scenic Broad River." She also told council members that the proposed footprint for the project includes a family cemetery with 25 graves. "What is (Waste Management) going to do with them?," she asked council members. Wheeler closed by outlining Waste Management's shaky history with regulators. She said that from 1991-2000 Waste Management was slapped with $357 million in legal judgments, $5.7 million in noncompliance environmental fines, $91.5 million in federal court judgments and paid out $220 million in a shareholders settlement. "You can easily find this information," she told council members. "Do we want to do business with an organization that has that kind of record?" Gaffney native Bob Peeler, the former lieutenant governor who is now the manager of community and municipal relations for Waste Management, also was among the packed house but he didn't address council members. In order to move forward, Waste Management must obtain approval from Cherokee County Council members, whose present solid waste management plan bans new landfill construction without their approval. |
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