Landfill Leachate Still a Concern
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Landfill Leachate Still a Concern
By Shane Gilreath
SCN Contributing Editor
[email protected]
As first reported by SCN in March, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) approved a controversial permit modification on January 9, 2026, allowing the expansion of a leachate evaporator at Volunteer Regional Landfill. The approval reignited concerns among residents in Scott County and McCreary County, Kentucky, who have spent months raising questions about landfill operations and public health concerns. That permit would increase the evaporator’s capacity from 30,000 gallons per day to 72,000 gallons per day. Correspondence reported by SCN revealed that Volunteer Regional has also requested additional approval from TDEC to import leachate from Laurel Ridge Landfill in Lily, Kentucky, a landfill operated by the same parent company.
According to documents submitted to TDEC by Promus Engineering on behalf of Scott Solid Waste Disposal Company, the proposed modification would allow up to 60,000 gallons of Kentucky leachate per day to be transported by tanker truck to Volunteer Regional for processing. The filing also acknowledges the facility does not currently meet the state’s 30-day leachate storage requirement, requesting a variance while a future storage tank is planned for 2027.
The development comes alongside recent concerns regarding old violations that are tied to the landfill’s operations, including a July 2025 Notice of Violation issued by Oneida Water & Wastewater, when testing revealed cyanide concentrations exceeding permitted discharge limits. Records show cyanide levels measured at 0.183 mg/L (above both the daily maximum of 0.1260 mg/L and the monthly maximum of 0.0630 mg/L).
Public opposition to landfill operations has steadily grown over the course of a year, which led to a packed November meeting at Oneida High School with TDEC that drew more than 400 residents from Scott and surrounding counties.
“Our children’s lungs aren’t dumping grounds,” one McCreary County resident wrote on social media ahead of the meeting, urging surrounding communities to become involved and educate themselves on what it is happening in the waste management industry.
