Cherokee Nation’s Landfill Closed Indefinitely, Officials Say
By S.E. Ruckman, Tulsa World, Okla.
Oct. 19–TAHLEQUAH — A Cherokee Nation landfill in Stilwell is closed indefinitely until plans to reopen it are reviewed, tribal officials announced this week.
Brad Carson, head of Cherokee Nation Businesses, told tribal lawmakers Tuesday at a natural resources committee meeting that the landfill had closed because the holding cell for refuse at the site is full.
The landfill has since turned away trash from several area municipalities with which it had informal agreements, Carson said.
The tribe’s environmental commission in September levied fines of more than $1 million on the landfill operator, Indian Country Investments.
Carson said the Cherokee Nation could construct a new trash holding cell for about $1.6 million and reopen for business. The tribe could also close the landfill, he said.
Other issues discussed this week centered on fiscal matters relating to the Cherokee Nation’s liability from closing the site and contract signing authority in the agreement between Cherokee Nation and the city of Fayetteville, Ark.
The Fayetteville contract is the only written agreement for using the landfill, Carson said. ICI entered
into contract with the city of Fayetteville in 2006 and is currently hauling that city’s trash to an alternate landfill in Tontitown, Ark.
Officials said landfill manager Doug Bane signed the contract on behalf of the Cherokee Nation. But his authority to do so was questioned by councilors.
Carson estimated that the tribe will lose about $12,000 a month through ICI’s agreement with Fayetteville.
Meanwhile, tribal officials stressed that the Stilwell site does not pose an environmental threat to the area. Jeannine Hale, Cherokee Nation Environmental Commission director, told tribal councilors that ICI has asked for an administrative review of the fines levied in September. No review date has been set.
More than $1 million in tribal fines were handed to ICI for leakage from an unlined storage pond, failing to cover accumulated refuse adequately with soil, and excessive methane gas levels.
“It doesn’t seem they (ICI) are making any effort to address the problems,” Hale said.
The Cherokee Nation Landfill is the only tribally owned commercial landfill in the state. It has about 12 workers who are considered Cherokee Nation employees, officials said.
——
S.E. Ruckman 581-8462 se.ruckman@tulsaworld.com
—–
To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Tulsa World, Okla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.