Coal ash hearing in Jesup tonight

Southeast Georgians’ anger over a proposed landfill expansion — with the possible arrival of thousands of tons daily of toxic coal ash — will again be vented this evening at a public hearing in Jesup.

The meeting's ostensible purpose: a discussion over a permit pending before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a four-track rail yard alongside the Broadhurst Environmental Landfill.

Wayne County residents, though, are likely to question not just the permissibility of the wetlands permit needed by landfill operator Republic Services, but the likely importation of coal ash and its impact on groundwater. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last month that toxic metals leached from coal ash into the soil and groundwater at the landfill 10 miles below Jesup.