No ruling was issued Wednesday by Superior Court Judge David Cavendar in the lawsuit Atlantic Waste Services filed against Bryan County claiming the county’s ordinance regarding landfills is unconstitutional. 

During a summary judgment hearing at the Bryan County Courthouse in Pembroke, Cavendar listened to arguments from both parties' legal representatives. Summary judgment is a decision made on the basis of statements and evidence without a trial. 

Atlantic Waste's attorney Harold Yellin told the court the Pooler-based solid waste services company wanted the court to rule that Bryan County's ordinance regarding landfills is unconstitutional. 

Yellin said the ordinance is unconstitutional because no piece of property in Bryan County met the requirements to build a landfill. 

The county’s requirements, which are stricter than those required by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, Yellin noted, require a 1,000-foot setback between a landfill and a water source, require a landfill to be accessible from a state or federal highway and prohibit a landfill in any wetlands area. 

But Christian Henry, representing Bryan County, said the county's ordinance is constitutional. He agreed there are no current properties in the county that would meet the requirements to build a landfill, but noted there are properties that could be subdivided to meet the ordinance’s requirements. 

Henry argued it does not matter whether there is any land in the county that meet the ordinance requirements. All that matters, he said, wis whether or not the ordinance is constitutional. 

Read more in the May 4 edition of the News.