Newton County’s landfill manager James Peters resigned suddenly this week following months of speculation and debate over the future of the landfill.

Peters informed the county on Monday that his last day would be Wednesday, according to County Manager Tom Garrett.

Garrett said Peters had “served the county well” in the near decade he ran the landfill.

“It is customary [to give two weeks’ notice], but it is not a requirement,” said Garrett, who declined to speculate about Peters’ reasons for leaving.

Garrett said he has met with the county chairman, Keith Ellis, and that a decision would be made in the coming weeks as to whether an interim or permanent manager will be hired to replace Peters. In the short term, Garrett said the county has three other certified operators and a number of qualified staff to run the day-to-day operations of the landfill.

“I would doubt that any permanent decision would be made before the landfill panel issues its recommendations,” Garrett said.

The citizen landfill panel has been convened to study the county's solid waste management, including a proposed deal to lease the county landfill to a private operator, which, if approved, would have had implications for Peters’ job security.

Peters could not immediately be reached for comment.