Don't be surprised if landfill stays open
The Canton Repository
EAST SPARTA - Serious as the odor problem at the Countywide landfill is, Stark County residents should not be surprised if local and state officials decide that shutting down the facility is too drastic a step.
The new director of the Ohio EPA, Chris Korleski, is expected to tell the Stark County Board of Health today whether his agency believes the board should renew the Pike Township landfill's operating license. The board will consider the recommendation at a meeting Thursday that will draw a big crowd.
Countywide is a huge facility that the state Environmental Protection Agency last year declared a public nuisance because of the intensely obnoxious odor that began months ago and has, so far, proved impossible to end. An expert brought in by the EPA from California believes two fires are burning beneath the surface of the landfill, while Countywide's management believes the problem is a chemical reaction involving an aluminum waste product. Regardless of the cause, the result has made living near Countywide close to unbearable. Mitigating the problem has been slow work, compounded by what the California expert says are unique circumstances.
So why would officials renew Countywide's license? For one thing, the odor problem will not solve itself, whether the landfill is open or closed. The work of smothering the combustion or chemical reaction will go on. For another, other parts of the landfill are useable and in use, and officials would need to determine the impact of an abrupt closure on solid waste disposal, not only for out-of-state generators of waste but also for Stark and Summit counties and other Ohio generators of waste. Finally, as an observer we spoke with in Columbus points out, local officials will have to consider whether they might face a costly legal liability issue.
We assume the Board of Health knows or is studying the extent of its authority to attach stringent conditions to renewal of a license that would give it leverage in the coming months. Angry and worried as they might be, residents should not be surprised if this is the route the board takes. The problem at Countywide may be unique, but the need to dispose of trash is not - and few, if any, of us can say we don't contribute to the need.
EAST SPARTA - Serious as the odor problem at the Countywide landfill is, Stark County residents should not be surprised if local and state officials decide that shutting down the facility is too drastic a step.
The new director of the Ohio EPA, Chris Korleski, is expected to tell the Stark County Board of Health today whether his agency believes the board should renew the Pike Township landfill's operating license. The board will consider the recommendation at a meeting Thursday that will draw a big crowd.
Countywide is a huge facility that the state Environmental Protection Agency last year declared a public nuisance because of the intensely obnoxious odor that began months ago and has, so far, proved impossible to end. An expert brought in by the EPA from California believes two fires are burning beneath the surface of the landfill, while Countywide's management believes the problem is a chemical reaction involving an aluminum waste product. Regardless of the cause, the result has made living near Countywide close to unbearable. Mitigating the problem has been slow work, compounded by what the California expert says are unique circumstances.
So why would officials renew Countywide's license? For one thing, the odor problem will not solve itself, whether the landfill is open or closed. The work of smothering the combustion or chemical reaction will go on. For another, other parts of the landfill are useable and in use, and officials would need to determine the impact of an abrupt closure on solid waste disposal, not only for out-of-state generators of waste but also for Stark and Summit counties and other Ohio generators of waste. Finally, as an observer we spoke with in Columbus points out, local officials will have to consider whether they might face a costly legal liability issue.
We assume the Board of Health knows or is studying the extent of its authority to attach stringent conditions to renewal of a license that would give it leverage in the coming months. Angry and worried as they might be, residents should not be surprised if this is the route the board takes. The problem at Countywide may be unique, but the need to dispose of trash is not - and few, if any, of us can say we don't contribute to the need.
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