Horry County Council Solid Waste Authority Landfill Expansion Workshop – April 21, 2026

Horry County Council held a workshop on April 21, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in MPR B&C of the Horry County Government & Justice Center, 1301 Second Avenue, Conway, SC, to review Solid Waste Authority (SWA) landfill expansion plans, the revised SWA FY2027 budget, and Resolution R-45-2026. Chairman Johnny Gardner led the meeting, which opened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Meeting minutes were not available; this summary is based on the agenda and the raw transcript.

Landfill Expansion Presentation

• Ed Marr, SWA, presenting with consultants, said the county began reviewing its solid waste management plan in 2024 and submitted a permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December 2025. The public comment period ended in January 2026, and the Corps had just requested additional information. If the Corps permit is successful, the next step would be a South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (DES) permit for construction and operation.
• Three on-site expansion sites are under consideration: Site 1 near the scale house, Site 2 near the composting facility, and Site 3 on roughly 100 acres in the rear of the property. Marr noted restrictive covenants apply to portions of the first two sites, and there are wetlands in the rear site not under such covenants.
• Current capacity was described as about 2029 for the Class 2 construction and demolition (C&D) landfill and about 2051 for the Class 3 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill. The planning process beginning July 1, 2026 must demonstrate 20 years of disposal capacity, through 2047. New on-site capacity is likely about seven years away, so SWA expects some interim co-disposal of C&D material in the Class 3 landfill while maximizing recycling, shredding, and waste reduction.

FY27 Budget Presentation

• Jan Bitting, SWA, said the main revision to the FY2027 budget was removal of the landfill expansion and mitigation project, which totaled over $21 million in capital, because there were too many unknowns and no approvals in place. About $300,000 was retained for landfill expansion consulting and engineering, with a commitment to return for a budget amendment if approvals advance.
• The revised FY2027 budget is $90,588,360, down from the originally presented $117,280,560, and is the subject of Resolution R-45-2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Monica Wayland, staff attorney for the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, spoke on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League, Friends of Lewis Ocean Bay, the League of Women Voters of Horry County, the South Carolina Native Plant Society Grand Strand Chapter, the Waccamaw Audubon Society, the Waccamaw Riverkeeper, and the Winyah Rivers Alliance. She opposed the landfill expansion, called the filling of over 100 acres of wetlands 'absolutely egregious,' and urged the Council to support alternatives such as increased recycling, other sites, and sending C&D waste elsewhere. She noted restrictive covenants currently protect wetlands on two of the proposed sites.
• A resident who did not give her name supported the upcoming solid waste management planning process, noted that the 2022 DES plan listed commingling C&D with MSW as an alternative, and urged the 15-member planning committee to use consultant funds for financial analysis of alternatives.
• Renee Roth, a five-year resident, raised concerns about PFAS chemicals, landfill aging, pipes and geology, and called for stronger recycling programs and more transparent discussion.
• Sherry Irvin, an adjacent property owner at 4551 Cole Road, Conway, said SWA had not contacted her despite statements that property owners were being considered. She expressed concerns about noise, property value, private well water, health, flooding, and contamination, and asked for written documentation of alternatives.
• Deborah Buffkin, executive director of the Winyah Rivers Alliance, said clean water and wetlands are not optional, cited the economic and flood-storage value of wetlands, and announced a Coastal Carolina University study with Dr. Till Hannibal that found PFAS in the watershed and PFOS below the landfill. She said DES had been notified.
• Ann Hon Rimsky referenced the Hoosick Falls, New York PFAS contamination and asked the Council to learn from that history.
• Marla Jones, who sold about 20 acres to the landfill for mitigation in 2004/2005, said she included a perpetual wetland restriction and would not have sold the land if she thought it could later be disturbed. She cited wetland flood-protection values and the 1999 flood.
• David Hugs of Myrtle Beach SC News said roughly 75% of the area's waste comes from tourism, cited concerns that 95% of landfills leak PFAS, and said EPA data show Waccamaw River drinking water at 12 times the safe level for PFAS. He urged regional collaboration, consideration of new technologies, and state-mandated PFAS testing.
• Patricia Millie, a resident of Quell Creek Village, warned about water scarcity and desertification, described wetlands as nurseries and filters, urged tree buffers and county ownership of open space, and raised concerns about a proposed canal to the ocean.

Council Discussion

• Chairman Gardner read from the SCELP letter that the proposed expansion would affect 102.4 acres of freshwater wetlands and asked how restrictive covenants could be overridden.
• Tom Balou, environmental consultant, said the restrictive covenants were tied to previous permits and are controlled by the Corps and DES. Removal requires a significant public-interest determination and full replacement of the mitigation value of the wetlands. The proposed plan would purchase mitigation credits from an approved mitigation bank about eight miles away on Highway 90.
• Balou said there is no alternative site in Horry County with less wetland impact. A new greenfield facility would require roughly 1,200 acres and likely affect 400-500 acres of wetlands, compared with the proposed 102.4 acres. He also said that if all C&D waste were eliminated or transferred out of the county, wetland impacts would drop to about one-third of the proposed footprint.
• Ed Marr said current C&D disposal costs about $46 per ton. Transferring C&D to regional facilities would cost about $100 per ton for disposal plus roughly $50 per ton for transportation and operations, bringing total costs to about $150 per ton and raising annual C&D costs from about $1.2 million to almost $4 million. Rail transfer had not been studied.
• Councilmembers expressed dissatisfaction with the alternatives analysis and asked for more research into rail transfer, mandatory recycling, and other options. Marr responded that waste-to-energy is not currently viable in South Carolina due to the 600-ton-per-day permit cap and the roughly 3,000-ton-per-day economics needed, and that recycling alone cannot solve the capacity need. He said co-mingling C&D in the MSW landfill would shorten the MSW landfill's life to about 2040. Chairman Gardner noted that combining multiple incremental options could still gain meaningful time.

Key Outcomes

• Councilmember Al Allen offered an amendment to approve the SWA FY2027 operating budget but divert the $300,000 in consulting/engineering funds to study a rail-served transfer station on SWA-owned land, with a goal of moving commercial C&D waste out of the county within about two years. The amendment also expanded the study to include mandatory residential and commercial recycling and other options that avoid the 102-acre wetland footprint.
• The amendment was approved by voice vote.
• Council then approved Resolution R-45-2026, as amended, by voice vote, authorizing the revised SWA FY2027 budget of $90,588,360 for inclusion in a 2nd reading amendment to Ordinance 28-2026.
• Council staff were asked to provide periodic updates through the Infrastructure & Regulation Committee, approximately every two months, and to provide a current water-testing update.
• No executive session was held, and the workshop adjourned.