A moratorium on new landfills — which will likely affect the proposed Conecuh Woods landfill near Repton — is good news for Escambia County, as well, county commission Chairman David Stokes said Monday.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, would ban new landfills for two years while the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and other officials have time to review the permitting procedure for such landfills.

“This is a good thing for us since it affects our residents,” Stokes said of the bill passage. “Hopefully, Gov. Bentley will sign the bill into law this week. We appreciate the work done by Rep. Alan Baker on this bill. He knows the importance to us in this area. We also want to express our gratitude to Sen. Marc Keahey for his part in getting this bill passed.”

The Escambia County Commission and several other surrounding governments in the region passed resolutions against the landfill. The Conecuh Woods application was approved in a controversial 3-2 vote last week by the Conecuh County Commission.

“This moratorium now gives us two years to get these thugs away from this part of the country,” Stokes said. “I’m thankful to this board, and other boards in this region, for the resolution passed in opposition of the Conecuh Woods landfill. That is what had a true and real effect on making this happen.”