CORTLAND – While the window could be closing on an appeal to stop the landfill expansion, Stop the Mega-Dump members could lead the charge on a much larger, potentially groundbreaking case.

During a public meeting Thursday in Cortland, Stop the Mega-Dump leaders urged Cortland Township residents to band together and initiate a class-action lawsuit that would put a state law to the test for the first time and potentially give township governments a trump card over county government in garbage disposal decisions.

An Illinois statute that states township residents can prevent the deposit of garbage within township limits – including at refuse disposal facilities – could be the key and final opportunity for residents opposed to the landfill expansion to make a stand.