CLINTON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ) Permit Board voted 4-2 on Tuesday to approve the expansion of a landfill in the City of Clinton.

Faircloth Rubbish Landfill, Inc., can now double their landfill surface area at their location off of Springridge Road. Officials said adding another 26 acres to the current space will add about 20 years of service longevity.

Residents and business owners have been fighting the expansion for decades. They’ve cited lingering trash, a strong stench, noise from heavy machinery, air quality, and toxic water among their complaints.

Other Clintonians said they do not have a problem with the expansion.

“The neighborhood is very much obviously opposed to it. It is a residential neighborhood, and we don’t need what is essentially another landfill,” said Albert Spann, who lives in Clinton.

“There is no smell. And from what I’ve been hearing, and I’m there all the time, and I don’t smell a horrific smell,” said Pastor Clifford Daniels, Sr., a Clinton resident.

Faircloth is one of two rubbish landfills in Hinds County. The other one is owned by the City of Jackson and serves several counties in Central Mississippi.