An ongoing investigation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality into an illegal dumping at the Meridian Public Training Facility revealed that CertainTeed Gypsum and Ceiling Manufacturing, Inc. had obtained permission to dump on the facility’s grounds.

Brittany McCrary, an engineer in training with MDEQ, visited the site with coworker Ethan Mayeu on Oct. 25 and 26 as part of an initial investigation.

In McCrary’s memorandum, submitted on Dec. 1, McCrary said MDEQ met with Will Simmons, a City of Meridian attorney, and Hugh Smith Jr., the city’s Public Works director to discuss the illegal dumping. 

According to Simmons and Smith, Harrison Cook trucking company transported the waste.

Mayeu and McCrary, accompanied by William Brunelle, the senior police officer at the facility, and Dough Stephens, a training officer at the facility, visited the illegal dumping area on the far north side of the facility, next to a recently constructed 500-yard rifle range. 

The waste included off-spec ceiling tiles, ceiling tile waste sludge and demolition material. McCrary noted that the waste had a “strong, pungent odor of a slight hydrogen sulfide smell.”

Brunelle and Stephens told McCrary and Mayeu that the waste “was an attempt to fix an erosion issue upon completion of construction of the firing range.”

They also said the former director of the training facility granted access and permission. Buck Roberts, though unnamed in the report, recently retired from that position.

Roberts and Meridian Mayor Percy Bland said Roberts’ retirement had no connection to the illegal dumping. In an earlier interview, Roberts said, “They’re checking into it, so I am not with the city, [and] I’m not in a position to speculate or answer anything… But as far as it being illegal, I would say no.”

McCrary said Jameel Robinson, a facilities manager at CertainTeed, had been contacted in early November and asked the provide more information by Nov. 17.

Robinson asked for an extension to Dec. 8 “due to unavailability of people because of the holidays.”

MDEQ requested the following from CertainTeed:

The memorandum from McCrary also included photos of the dumping at the training facility. 

Mayor Bland referred questions about clean-up and policy changes to Richie McAllister, chief administrative officer. McAllister didn’t respond Monday afternoon to calls for comment.

Regarding MDEQ policy on dumping, Robbie Wilbur, a spokesman with MDEQ, wrote in an email:

“Solid wastes should generally be managed through permitted solid waste management facilities (i.e. landfills, rubbish sites, transfer stations) or through legitimate recycling facilities. State law prohibits the formation of unauthorized dumps in §17-17-17 of the Mississippi Code. In addition, the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management Regulations further requires that any city, company or person seeking to operate a landfill, rubbish site or other solid waste management facility would need to apply for and obtain a solid waste management permit from the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board in order to operate a landfill or other solid waste facility.

“State Regulations provide an exception for fill projects which meet specific conditions of a beneficial fill project. Beneficial fills are temporary, small fill sites (less than one acre in size) which utilize only certain non-decomposable waste (such as concrete, brick, etc) and meet other regulatory criteria.”

Wilbur said the City of Meridian self-disclosed the dumping on Oct. 25.

Using building materials to fortify an erosion issue, such as stated above, could fall under “beneficial fill project” guidelines, but must meet certain criteria. 

“These projects may include erosion control or repair projects where the fill activity is conducted on a short-term basis in a small area. Beneficial fill projects are not considered waste disposal sites but are sites where the land is being improved using insert, non-decomposable debris such as concrete and brick from a demolition project. The project must ensure that the fill activity is not conducted in a wetland or other environmentally sensitive area,” Wilbur sent via email.

Wilbur noted that construction waste such as insulation would not typically be suitable for a beneficial fill.

Jim Brock contributed to this story.