Scott Waste Pays Entire Septic Tank Bill For EC Man

Edmonson Voice Staff
In a turn of events, Scott Waste paid $2800 to Corey Vanmeter on Thursday for damage to his septic tank that occurred when a Scott's Waste truck fell through the tank in early December. 

Vanmeter contacted the Edmonson Voice and gave his side of the story and provided photos of the truck on top of the busted tank. Controversy grew when Vanmeter said the truck left the driveway while Scott Waste claimed that the driveway boundary was unclear and that they shouldn't be responsible for the damages since they didn't know the tank was so close.

Vanmeter was faced with $2800 in damages, of which Scott Waste agreed to pay half the amount, $1400. After much negative reaction from the original story that was published on December 30, 2015, and calls from Judge Executive Wil Cannon, a Scott Waste representative attended a recent fiscal court meeting and said why they felt like they weren't responsible for any more than half.

During the meeting, they said they would be willing to continue to work with Vanmeter to reach a solution beneficial to both parties. Vanmeter said he reached out to them again, still requesting the full amount.

"At first, it was the same thing," Vanmeter said. "He told me that the tank was too close to the driveway and he could see where other vehicles had passed over where the tank was." Vanmeter said that that might have been the case, but he also said he told them that a personal pickup truck was quite different than a 60,000 pound garbage truck. 

"We went back and forth, and I told him that I was going to file a claim with my homeowner's insurance, but that they would probably be going after him. After that, is when he offered to pay the amount in full."

Two more calls were made to Scott Waste from the Edmonson Voice, but were not immediately returned.

Vanmeter also said that Scott Waste paid him directly over the phone via credit card because it could take up to 60 days for their office to process a check. Vanmeter said they even offered to cover the fee that Vanmeter's credit card company charged him. 
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Judge Wil Cannon said he was unaware of the result of the incident until we spoke with him. 

"That's great news for Mr. Vanmeter," Judge Cannon said. "I told Scott Waste early on that paying for half was probably a fair offer, but in order to keep quality community relationships and good public opinion, they would be better off paying the entire amount."

Cannon also said that since he's been the Judge Executive, any issue the county has ever had with Scott Waste has been solved, except for one, and that one issue is still pending. "Most of the magistrates are like me, they've had good luck with Scott Waste. But now, we're hearing of small issues here and there, and so is the public. The public is letting magistrates know these things, and in turn, the magistrates will vote on who gets the next garbage contract here. We all need to work together."