NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Adams County board is still awaiting an application from the developers wanting permission to build an oil-waste dump on land owned by county Supervisor Kevin Wilson.
Once the application is filed, a public hearing will be held before the board’s other four members decide whether to give their consent, said Scott Slover, the county supervisors’ attorney.
Slover said today that Wilson and his business partners have indicated they plan to file their application with county officials soon.
Adams County’s comprehensive waste disposal-management plan must be revised by the county board to include the oil waste dump before Wilson’s proposal can be reviewed by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for that agency to permit or not.
Adams County residents – concerned about the proposed landfill potentially polluting the environment – have asked the Board of Supervisors to block the facility being planned on land Wilson owns near U.S. 61 in south Adams County.
Wilson, who’s in the oil business, has cited a pressing need for such a disposal facility to take wastes generated by the oil-exploration industry in southern states. He has recused himself in recent months from the county board’s public discussions about the proposed waste dump.
Wilson formed a company – Complete Oilfield Disposal – in January 2023 with two Louisiana-based partners to operate the nonhazardous waste treatment and disposal facility, according to business records filed with the Mississippi secretary of state’s office.
Any revisions to the county waste management plan would require public input and a hearing before supervisors decide whether to approve or disapprove the oil waste dump. If approved at the county level, Wilson’s company would then be able to apply for a state waste permit from MDEQ.
The oilfield waste-disposal plans became public in October, when one of Wilson’s business partners came before the Adams County board to discuss the plans. Since then, residents have attended Adams County board meetings seeking information and asking supervisors to enact measures to prevent what they fear will be an environmentally threatening waste dump.
Wilson has stepped out of county board meetings about the proposed landfill to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Government officials are prohibited from using their public positions and exerting undue influence for personal financial gains.
Wilson’s land is about 15 miles south of Natchez by U.S. 61 near the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge on Shieldsboro Road. It’s also by the Plantation Oaks landfill that buries household trash from city and county residences.
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