Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Nabors landfill timeline

1981

The Arkansas Department of Environmen­tal Quality issues a solid waste permit for the RLH Landfill in Baxter County.

2002

RLH management puts the landfill on the market.

2003

Nov.: The Environmen­tal Quality Department issues a notice of violation to the RHL, citing repeated violations of solid waste regulation­s and Arkansas Code. RLH later agrees to pay $250,000 in fines and set aside an additional $500,000 in financial assurances to fund post-closure costs on portions of the landfill.

2005

Oct. 1: Bank of the Ozarks issues $12.3 million in bonds to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District, later known as the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District, for the purchase of RLH Landfill and its hauling service, as well as several environmen­tal remediatio­ns to the site. The landfill and hauling service are renamed the North Arkansas Board of Regional Sanitation, or NABORS.

2008

The Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District board begins increasing users’ tipping fees* at the landfill. Over several years, the cost increases from $33 per ton to $42 per ton of garbage.

2010

Trash hauling services in Searcy, Baxter and Newton counties begin hauling garbage to dumps outside of the solid waste district, greatly reducing the revenue of the Nabors Landfill.

2012

Oct.: The Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District board votes to default on the $12.3 million bond issue, a first in the state’s history.

Nov.: Nabors Landfill closes, no longer accepting garbage. All but a handful of workers at the landfill and hauling service are laid off.

2013

Feb.: The Environmen­tal Quality Department files suit against the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District for nearly $2.2 million to be applied to the cost of final closure of one portion of the Nabors Landfill.

April: Bank of the Ozarks files a notice of accelerati­on against the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District, demanding immediate repayment of the unpaid balance of the $12.3 million bond issue.

July: The Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District board approves the expenditur­e of $17,500 for a study to determine the costs of permanentl­y closing the landfill’s active cells, as well as the operationa­l costs for the third-party waste management company to operate the landfill.