LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Residents wanting to shut down a mega dump fed by daily East Coast trash trains gained new momentum this week when leaders in the northeastern Kentucky county urged state regulators to shut down the landfill.

The Boyd County Fiscal Court voted unanimously this week to call for the shut down, or in the alternative, seek a wide range of dump restrictions for the Big Run Landfill outside Ashland, The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/1MoZSD7 ) reported.

The vote "was a small victory in a big war," said Candy Messer, who with her husband, Kenny, are active with the Citizens of Boyd County Environmental Coalition. "There are so many people who are suffering."

The Independent newspaper of Ashland reported Tuesday night that Fiscal Court had so far refused to take a stand on the dump issue, which drew a large crowd to the Fiscal Court meeting. Residents continued to complain about odors several miles away and at nearby schools.

The Louisville newspaper reported this spring that the landfill was intended to be a cash cow, with up to 90 percent of its waste coming by rail from out of state. Instead, it turned into a stench-ridden horror for Boyd County residents.

"We've experienced problems with this landfill long enough," said Boyd County Judge-Executive Steve Towler. "We've got to be aggressive."

By urging the dump's closure, county officials have shown a willingness to reject more than $1 million a year in revenues.

The landfill's permit is up for renewal this year.

State officials describe Big Run as Kentucky's largest landfill and the only one in the state to import trash by train. It's also one of the busiest in the eastern United States, they said.

Its parent company is EnviroSolutions Inc. of Virginia. Company officials said they have been working hard to reduce odors and comply with state regulations.

"We have been transparent about our activities, been open and forthcoming with the community and remain firmly committed to working aggressively to build on the substantial progress we have made," said EnviroCare regional vice president Scott Cunningham.

But the dump's operators failed to meet a May deadline for complying with odor and operational regulations, the Louisville newspaper reported.

Towler said Boyd County Fiscal Court had finally had enough, despite a move by the county a decade ago to greatly expand the landfill's capacity, which opened the door for the equally smelly waste-filled trains from New York and New Jersey to arrive.

"For the last several years, primarily after the trains started rolling in, we started putting in huge amounts of waste," Towler said. "I could just go on and on how unpopular those trains are," which he said poke along at 5 mph and reek in the summer heat and humidity.