Richard Holt has lived on his family's farm near Lewisburg most of his
life but what's happening on the property behind it has him considering
something that used to be unthinkable. 

"We're actually trying to find another place to live. I don't want the kids around the smell," said Holt.


Waste Management wants to expand the Cedar Ridge Landfill onto property that's directly behind Holt's land.

"What
better place in the county is there than where the landfill is and has
been," Business Development and Strategic Planning Director Robert
Chaney.

 
Marshall County zoning regulations have made expansion impossible
including a provision that bans landfills within two miles of schools.

Tuesday,
Marshall County commissioners voted to change those regulations to give
the company the option of applying for the landfill expansion.


Some of them worried about how much the county stands to lose if the landfill closes.
  
"The estimate is a $1.5 million
annually just to recreate the services we have right now and in a county
of 30 thousand that's a lot of money per individual," said Chaney.

Before voting commissioners heard from opponents who worry about property values decreasing and the environment.

Two big concerns for Holt.


"I don't believe there's no fighting it.  I believe they've got too
much money, a stranglehold on the county for money," said Holt.



Both the county and the state still need to approve the landfill expansion.

The process itself could take 2 years.





EXCLUSIVE: Big Landfill Battle Ends in Lewisburg