“Nobody else wanted to touch this,” he said.

Bradshaw said the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation told him the work had to be completed as soon as possible.

“TDEC said, ‘You fix it or we’ll fix it and send you the bill’,” Bradshaw said.

At an Aug. 15 workshop, Waller had more questions for Bradshaw. Waller said he wanted to know how the contractor was selected for the job. He also asked about the status of other TDEC requests related to the site, including water sampling, a survey of wells in the area and a diagram of the work completed.

Bradshaw said Chris Parks, recycling center director, was in the process of completing the outstanding items requested by TDEC. He did not elaborate on how the contractor was selected but said the work solved the problems.

“TDEC said they were happy with it,” Bradshaw said.

Loudon County Solid Waste Disposal Commission Chairwoman Pat Hunter presented commissioners a copy of a letter from LCSWDC attorney Kevin Stevens explaining why the county mayor’s office took control of the Poplar Springs problem. Stevens said the waste commission was not involved in the decisions.

“LCSWDC has never negotiated, executed or otherwise approved any contract for any scope of repair work related to the Poplar Springs Landfill,” Stevens wrote. “All contracts for all work at

County wants invoice answers from Bradshaw By Hugh G. Willett hugh.willett@news-herald.net Aug 24, 2022

Poplar Springs have always been negotiated, executed and overseen by the mayors for the three stakeholders of LCSWDC, namely Loudon County, Loudon City and Lenoir City.

“For many years, LCSWDC was not provided complete information regarding the ongoing Poplar Springs Landfill repairs,” Stevens continued. “In fact, the only reason that LCSWDC had any involvement with the Poplar Springs Landfill repairs was due to the fact that it held certain funds related to the prior operation of the Poplar Springs Landfill. That is why

LCSWDC determined years ago that it would not vote to ‘approve’ invoices for any work at Poplar Springs Landfill as it was not given sufficient information about the scope of work.”

LCSWDC established a standing protocol that it would merely sign invoices to “acknowledge” certain work was done.

In 2016, the mayors of Loudon and Lenoir City executed resolutions authorizing the Loudon County mayor to approve all necessary expenditures for the Poplar Springs Landfill, according to the letter.

County Commissioner Van Shaver said he understands how the county mayor’s office was given authority to make decisions about fixing problems at the landfill but questions whether Bradshaw had the authority to circumvent the state-mandated purchasing and bidding process.