Problems, like the trash at a makeshift storage facility behind the Dallas County Sportsplex on Highway 219, are starting to pile up.

A city-owned lot, just outside the city limits, originally intended to be used as a temporary storing place for leaves, branches and brush, is now becoming littered with solid waste items that include everything from mattresses, household garbage and plastic containers.

The 50-acre piece of property, just off of U.S. Hwy. 80, has now drawn the attention of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, who visited the area Wednesday.

ADEM spokesman Scott Hughes said officials have visited the property and are now in the process of documenting the problems and developing a plan to clear up the lot, working with city officials.

“We sent a representative out Wednesday to visit the site and discuss several areas of concern,” Hughes said. “We want to get all of the information going on at the site and work with the responsible parties to do what needs to be done.”

The biggest problem, Hughes said, is the presence of municipal solid waste without proper lining.

Municipal solid waste is classified as all types of solid waste generated by households and commercial establishments, and collected usually by local government bodies.

Currently, the loads of debris and trash, which are being unloaded by city trucks, are being dumped directly on the ground.

The trucks witnessed unloading debris were brush trucks, not garbage trucks.

The problem, Selma Mayor George Evans said, occurs when people mix this waste in with their brush and other items that are placed on the street for pickup.

“What has happened is sometimes people throw paper and things like that in the trash that they shouldn’t and they try to clear it out, but something it doesn’t get cleared out,” Evans said. “The initial intent was to use this as a temporary move until we could get two new cells built (at the city landfill) because the ones we have now are pretty much full.”

The city’s old landfill is full and has been closed, Evans said. The council recently approved construction of two new cells where the brush is being piled and Evans said he hopes the project can be completed in the next two months.

Regardless of when the project is completed, Evans said there should not be anything other than leaves and branches piled in the 50-acre area that is just yards away from a children’s playground and baseball fields.

“There should not be anything other than limbs and leaves and brush,” Evans said. “(Public Works Director Tommy Smith) is going to be going out there (Saturday) and Monday to try to get that all corrected.”

Selma City Councilmember Bennie Ruth Crenshaw said she is concerned with the city’s current situation and the process of building new cells. In the past, she said she made a proposal to meet the problem head on.

“I knew we needed to do something and I figured it would take about $350,000,” Crenshaw said. “I knew we needed about that amount of money to make sure we closed the facility properly. I didn’t want any overflow and I knew something had to be done.”

Crenshaw also said there were hearings on a bond issue that would have provided more than enough money to solve landfill issues.

“The bond issue would have given adequate funds to get the cell fixed,” Crenshaw said. “That’s all I wanted. It’s nothing personal. We knew the landfill had to be closed a certain way and opened a certain way. We just wanted to make sure it was closed properly.”

Crenshaw said she now fears the city might not have enough money to correct the current issues.

Crenshaw said she feels for the residents who live near the trash storage because the problem can quickly turn into a health hazard.

“We don’t want it to look like that, that’s what bothers me,” she said. “We are concerned with the health and the safety of the people who live in that area. It’s all about what is right for the citizens.

“We want to get this problem solved as quick as possible. This is nothing to play with.”

As for correcting the current issues, Hughes said he does not know what the process will be, or how long it will take.

“I can’t specifically say how easily the problem can be cleaned up,” Hughes said. “But we do plan to work with the responsible parties to develop a plan.”

Evans said he regrets the storage got out of hand and is prepared to do whatever it takes to correct the problem.

“Whatever comes I’ll deal with it,” Evans said. “I’ll accept whatever ADEM says. I know it borderlines on not being adequate, and whatever happens I’ll take the heat.”