Murfreesboro Cites Middle Point Landfill, Names Republic

The City of Murfreesboro says the Middle Point Landfill was cited by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for seven environmental violations over the past year, most recently for leachate entering dry run-off ditches on the east and west sides of the property. City testing and notices allege the leachate and discharges contain PFAS “forever chemicals” as well as aluminum and ammonia, with contaminants found near the Walter Hill Recreational Area and the intake for the Stones River Water Treatment Plant, raising drinking-water and public-health concerns. Murfreesboro logged its 4,000th odor complaint since launching an online portal four years ago, with residents reporting odors as far as five to seven miles away and complaints spiking in the past year. In mid-September the city sent formal notices accusing the landfill owners, Republic Services and BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee, of additional and ongoing Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act violations, on top of a 2022 lawsuit, and Mayor Shane McFarland said the landfill should be capped or closed. Republic and BFI pushed back, calling the city's release “grandstanding,” saying the city has not shared specifics needed to investigate and characterizing TDEC observations as minor and being addressed.