NAHUNTA — Brantley County commissioners are patiently awaiting to hear on their request to the State Supreme Court and Chief Justice Mike Boggs.
Brantley County’s team of attorneys in the lawsuit against Brantley County Development Partners, LLC to stop a landfill in Waynesville filed papers with the State Supreme Court to hear a request to stop a permitting process.
The parcel is bisected by U.S. Highway 82/State Highway 520 East, and was previously owned by Magnolia Land Holdings, LLC, before it was foreclosed upon.
“The State Court of Appeals denied our request to basically stop the permitting process,” County Manager Joey Cason said Wednesday morning, December 11. “Our attorneys (Kimberley Joiner Hale, Atlanta, Gregory W. Blount, Jonathan E. Wells, Kathryn Elise Hopkins), who primarily all they deal with is this type of law, are now basically requesting the State Supreme Court and Chief Justice Boggs to hear our request in the State Supreme Court.
“It has not been accepted yet, but it has not been denied yet either. We’re (Brantley County officials) still are waiting. Depending on that whether or not they will accept it, we will know if there’s any further action that we can take. Right now everything is on hold.”
Cason said no date has been set to hear from the Supreme Court.
According to Cason, the county’s request to stop the permitting filed with the State Court of Appeals did not overturn an earlier decision to allow permitting for the landfill.
“It was basically like a hearing with each side presenting their case,” said Cason. “They (judges) determined they didn’t feel like they could overrule what’s already been done, so they didn’t overturn anything.
“They just upheld what had been in place, and they did not send it back to the local Superior Court. So currently, if the Supreme Court doesn’t either send it back to the Superior Court or rule on it, then their permitting is good.”
Cason said the good news is Chief Justice Boggs is a former Waycross resident living in Pierce County.
“He might not rule in our favor, but it is an issue that deals with where he’s from,” said Cason. “Maybe he’ll allow it to be heard by the Supreme Court. But there’s no definitive it will or won’t be. We’re just kind of in that holding pattern, waiting to hear from our attorneys.”
Cason did confirm nothing can be done at the landfill site without the ruling of permits being issued.
