Meeting set to discuss landfill odors
The Times-Reporter
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will address the odor nuisance at Countywide landfill during a public information session Nov. 16 at 6:30 in Faircrest Memorial Middle School cafeteria at 616 Faircrest St. SW in Canton Township of Stark County.
The Ohio EPA is consulting with the federal EPA on the decomposition of aluminum dross waste, which is believed to be triggering the odor at the landfill, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for input on potential health effects from odor exposure. Preliminary air sampling indicated the odor does not pose a public health threat but additional sampling is continuing, according to the Ohio EPA.
In September, the Ohio EPA declared Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility on Gracemont St. SW, East Sparta, just northeast of Bolivar, a public nuisance and ordered its owner-operator, Republic Services of Ohio, to implement comprehensive remedies by Dec. 15. The public session is intended to update area residents on the work completed and what needs to be done to meet the December deadline.
Announcement of the meeting was made Thursday night at Bolivar when Club 3000 hosted about 200 people concerned about the landfill odor.
Jessica Glaserman, 9, of Bolivar, sat in the top row bleachers of Bolivar Elementary with her hand held high, waiting to ask a question.
“How long will it take to fill up that landfill?” she asked.
Kurt Princic, environmental manager of the Northeast office of the Ohio EPA, responded that landfill was initially issued a permit for 88 acres in 1991. Countywide, located in Pike Township of Stark County, is seeking an expansion of another 170 acres – which is being challenged by the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District. If the vertical and horizontal expansion is granted, it is expected to add another 30 years to the life of the landfill. It would mean trash could be piled another 200 feet higher, and increase the total size to 258 acres.
Maryann Fearon, a member of Club 3000, the citizens’ group and environmental watchdog that has monitored the landfill since it opened, gave opening remarks and explained the agenda.
Princic discussed and heard complaints regarding odors coming from the landfill, the possible contamination of drinking water supplies and the vertical and horizontal movement of the landfill.
William Franks, Stark County health commissioner, and Bob Pattison of the Canton City Health Department, also attended. All three men came under intense questioning by residents who claimed the government officials don’t deal with the odor or truck traffic on a daily basis, or the residents’ loss of freedom to be outside because of the smell as well as a decrease in property values because of the landfill.
Also giving updates were Gary Franks, Bolivar water superintendent, about the community’s water supply and Big Indian aquifer; Dick Harvey of Bolivar, giving the history and update on Club 3000; and Don Ackerman, Lawrence Township trustee who spoke of the trustees’ involvement. Patrick Huth of Bolivar, an environmental and safety engineer, also spoke about risks at the landfill.
Ackerman said the township filed a verified complaint against the landfill Aug. 30. He said the township has purchased a Nasal Ranger from a grant through the solid waste district that measures odors. He said odor complaint forms are available at the township building in the Lawrence Township Industrial Park near Bolivar.
Tuscarawas County Commissioners Kerry Metzger, Jim Seldenright and Chris Abbuhl also spoke about the odor and other problems at the landfill.
Franks said the Stark County Health Department is the responsible agency to take action on the landfill.
“The director of the EPA makes a recommendation, and then it is our responsibility,” Franks said. “Our board of health does not enforce air pollution laws. If the landfill is in compliance Dec. 15, we will take no action, but there are also other dates in the orders and findings the landfill needs to abide by. If they are not in compliance, we would follow due process of the state law and it takes a long time.”
According to Franks, Countywide’s license expires at the end of the year.
Metzger said that if the Environmental Review Appeals Commission allows the expansion of Countywide, “we” can appeal to a court in Columbus about the vertical and horizontal expansion.
“The Ohio Revised Code doesn’t allow much jurisdiction over landfills,” Metzger said. “The three counties in the Joint Solid Waste District can try to make changes in the code. We have filed a verified complaint that the landfill is a public nuisance, and also filed a complaint with the Ohio attorney general.
“The original 88 acres, where the odor is originating, has a subsidence of 33 feet and a horizontal shift of 6 feet. The odors are just symptoms of what is going on at the landfill. They (Countywide) have installed a berm around the area. We need to hit them in the pocketbook. They should be fined,” Metzger said.
“I can assure you the county commissioners will keep fighting this problem,” Abbuhl said.
Those residing near the landfill said they can’t sell their properties or even be outside for very long. They said their properties are worthless and the odors are nauseating. Complaints about the odor were verified from Navarre, North Canton, Bolivar, Canton and other outlying areas.
Pattison said the Canton City Health Department has been in the air pollution business since 1965 and its staff has handled the 1,000 complaints that have been received about the odor at Countywide.
“Those complaints did result in the OEPA finding the landfill to be a public nuisance. We don’t believe the odor is a considered a health risk and we are taking regular samples every six days,” Pattison said. “There are no standards to deal with odors in Ohio.”
A resident asked why the EPA doesn’t shut the down the landfill.
Princic said shutting down the landfill will not make the odors go away because they come from the old part of the landfill, which consists of about 30 acres of the original 88.
“The state law prohibits the OEPA from fining the landfill,” Princic said.
Another resident asked why the OEPA is waiting until the ground is frozen to make a decision, when the smell would be gone.
Bill Skowrinski, district chief at the OEPA Northeast District Office, said his office answers to the legislators. He said the OEPA is funded by tax dollars and the budget was cut and that trend continued. The OEPA currently receives much of its funding from tipping fees from the Ohio landfills.
“We don’t want to live in the valley of nothing,” Fearon said at the conclusion of the meeting.
