Out-of-state investors are attempting to revive a 15-year-old landfill permit—never legally approved under Tennessee law—to build a 700+ acre landfill on top of more than 25 streams and wetlands at the headwaters of Bear Creek, waters that flow into the Big South Fork River & National Recreation Area. This will impact the main water supply for thousands of people in McCreary County and Pulaski County, Kentucky. If allowed, this landfill could contaminate our waters with toxic leachate and release massive landfill gas emissions for decades to come.

Tennessee has some of the weakest landfill enforcement in the country and does not regulate landfill odors, despite predictable and dangerous gas releases including methane, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, VOCs, and carbon dioxide. It’s big business against the rural landowners with the state working for big business.

The fight has moved to the Courthouse.

We brought in experienced lawyers and consultants to meet the challenge head on. They have done this specific type of work before and won. Aside from the lawyers, our group is made up of everyday people with full-time jobs, families, and deep roots in Scott County but when you need lawyers - you need lawyers, especially when the job is challenging State Officials. Your donations support the fight to get the case through the courts and give us the tools we need to avoid irreversible damage.

Our Story & Purpose

Cumberland Clear is an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by local community members who recognize the threat of heavy industry in rural areas. A Facebook post alerted them to a developer’s request to “recertify” an inactive landfill permit as part of a plan for up to 700 acres of a new mega landfill that will sit in headwaters to Bear Creek and the Big South Fork Recreational Area. Then we learned the plan also includes a trash-by-rail transfer station directly across from our elementary school. A "trash train" feeding a landfill beside children and neighborhoods is a threat we can't ignore. We have already pulled 2,000+ pages of key public records, organized technical and legal help, mobilized our state senator, and energized our local community to go public with this fight.

Make a difference and donate today before it's too late!