Landfill lawsuit settlement possibly on the table at special meeting tonight

The Dickson County Commission will meet in a special session tonight that was only scheduled for discussion of a possible settlement to a federal lawsuit over the Dickson County Landfill. A notice from county Mayor Bob Rial’s office says the commission will meet in an executive session at 7 pm Thursday with a special called session to follow. Rial said last week he was scheduling three special meetings on consecutive nights leading up to next week’s trial in U.S. District Court in Nashville. At that time, Rial said the meetings would only be held if there is a settlement offer for the lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2008 over contamination from the landfill. Wednesday night’s meeting was canceled. Rial said Thursday morning he could not comment on the events that have prompted tonight’s meeting to be held as scheduled. The NRDC filed the suit on behalf of members of the Holt family in the Eno Road area who claim they have suffered health issues because of exposure to hazardous chemicals that leached into groundwater from the landfill. Three private companies named in the lawsuit reached a 1.9 million dollar settlement last month. The NRDC is seeking measures to monitor or mitigate the migration of contaminated groundwater. Members of the Holt family have separate personal lawsuits against the county and city scheduled for trial next year.