6 living by Lee County landfill get $2.3M verdict

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal jury has ordered the owner of a Lee County landfill to pay $2.3 million to six residents who say their lives have been made miserable by the stench from the 140-foot tall piles of trash.

The State of Columbia (http://bit.ly/HrWPtg ) reports the landfill, owned by Republic Services of Arizona, may appeal and will ask a judge to throw out the award.

But a lawyer for the residents says he will ask the judge to close the landfill or order it to change how it operates at a hearing April 18.

During a two-week trial, people who lived near the landfill testified the smell is so bad at times they cannot stay outside.

Officials at the landfill say state regulators never had a problem with the odors.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com