The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:30 PM

ROCKFORD: Despite State Investigation, Prohibited Trash Burning Continuing Say Neighbors

Heaps of trash have filled a lot in a Rockford neighborhood—and some neighbors said they're concerned about how it will affect them.

"This is enough," resident Wanda Ellis told local news outlets on Tuesday.

Ellis also said that the burning continued at the lot the week before Christmas. TDEC said they would be working with county officials to come up with a solution in a timely manner.

Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC). Officials said they visited the site on Nov. 17, 2017, and on Nov. 28, 2017. TDEC staff said they found evidence of prohibited dumping and open burning.

Ellis said the lot has become more like a landfill among several homes. Neighbors were even caught on Local 8 News cameras dumping their trash.

"There are rats that come out of this, and animals wilder because there is food in this," Ellis said.

Everything from abandoned homes, junk cars and microwaves have wound up in the area. Ellis said the heap has become dangerous, but not just for herself.

Neighbor Albert Alexander said he's lived near the property his whole life and he feels that the owner should be left alone.

"They have about three garbage services that come through here, but what he does on his private property I don't think it's really a concern," said Alexander.

Alexander stressed that if county officials along with TDEC come to the area he hopes they will do something about a road that has become overgrown. Alexander said there used to be a road next to the trash piles that connected Homer Avenue and Rockford Boyd Road.

"When it rains it fills up with mud and water stands in it, if they are going to do anything out here we'd like to get this road paved," said Alexander.

Next door, Ellis said she will soon have clients that depend on her. The Rockford resident is part of a group that's running a home for adults with special needs.

"We just want them to have a safe place to live and be part of a society and be comfortable about who they are and want to be able to do what's the best for them," Ellis said.

Local 8 News traveled to the lot, but the owner did not live at the site. Neighbors said they'd like to see it cleaned up, but there are other issues in the neighborhood that should be taken care of first, such as paving a gravel road.

"Our opinion is, 'Let's get started with the street,' that's our interest," neighbor Brenda Alexander said. "Our interest isn't up the hill, we are just trying to get in and out of here right now."

However, officials said a landfill on private property so close to homes could be a ticking time bomb.

"It can be a real fire hazard, and the trash could ignite quick," Kevin Nippers with Riverside C&D landfill said. "Or even if you are throwing out household trash with chemicals, it could be a threat to drinking water as well."

A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives detailed how living near a landfill could cause "increases in risk of adverse health effects," including low birth weight, birth defects or even certain types of cancers. The study also noted that findings "may indicate real risks associated with residence near certain landfill sites."

TDEC said officials were working with county officials to address the debris on the property and "come to a resolution in a timely manner."

Open burning laws in Tennessee can be found online here.