Officials propose landfill `timeout'
Two area legislators await federal study of groundwater pollution
Local Landfills Receive 17% of All Trash Dumped in Ohio
By Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer
Sun, Nov. 20, 2005
Two state legislators from Stark County are seeking a moratorium on new and expanded landfills in 13 Ohio counties until a federal study of surface and groundwater is complete.
That study by the U.S. Geological Survey is expected to begin soon and could take five years.
Ohio needs "a timeout'' on building and expanding landfills, especially in southern Stark and northern Tuscarawas counties, said Sen. J. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Twp., who is pushing for the moratorium with state Rep. W. Scott Oelslager, R-Plain Twp.
A moratorium is supported by environmentalists but opposed by the trash industry and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Schuring said it's difficult to predict the likelihood of the legislation's approval in Columbus.
The upcoming study by USGS hydrologist Ralph Haefner will look at aquifers and surface water in all or part of 13 Ohio counties in the Tuscarawas River Basin. Those include Stark, Summit, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.
The study will determine whether the water has been polluted by landfills and other sources, such as agriculture, industry, mining, gas and oil drilling, development and sewage, Haefner said.
The Stark-Wayne-Tuscarawas Joint Solid Waste Management District is funding the initial phase, which has a price tag of $374,000.
To cover that cost, the garbage district is using interest income from tipping fees that haulers pay to dump trash, said Executive Director David Held.
Completing the study could cost an additional $1,455,000, although officials said it is not clear how that would be funded.
Ohio's landfill capacity
Schuring saida moratorium would have little impact because Ohio has excess landfill capacity.
The state has enough capacity in existing landfills to last about 27 years, said Mike Settles, a spokesman for the Ohio EPA.
Ohio handles 21 million tons of in-state trash a year. It has 44 landfills and 73 construction-debris landfills.
Schuring said the water study will answer a question that has been raised for years: Are the landfills polluting the aquifers used by neighbors for drinking water?
"We don't know if we have problems or not,'' he said, "but this study will finally answer those concerns.''
The Schuring-Oelslager legislation would cover landfill expansions or new-landfill proposals that were not submitted to the Ohio EPA by Oct. 8.
It also would cover those landfills that handle construction and demolition debris.
A state-imposed moratorium on construction-debris landfills expires Dec. 31. It was imposed for six months while the Ohio General Assembly wrestled with toughening laws on building and operating such landfills. That issue is still in the legislature.
Reactions to proposal
The Schuring-Oelslager proposal has drawn rave reviews from environmentalists.
"It's a totally logical, prudent, conservative, appropriate thing to do,'' said Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council in Columbus. "It's altogether appropriate to look at the groundwater before any new landfills or expansions go forward. Contaminated groundwater will last forever. A timeout for five years to prevent a permanent problem is a better way to go.''
But Shaner said the moratorium should be statewide because Ohio, with its lower tipping fees and available space, remains a target for waste from other states.
The National Solid Wastes Management Association, a trade group, opposes moratoriums as a matter of principle, said the organization's president, Bruce Parker.
"There is no reason for a moratorium in Ohio at this time,'' Parker said, adding that it probably would affect interstate commerce, and that could trigger a challenge in federal court. Under the U.S. Constitution, states cannot pass laws that interfere with interstate commerce.
Ohio EPA Director Joseph Konchelik said that while the agency welcomes the water study, it sees a moratorium as unnecessary. Current state laws protect the environment, Konchelik said.
Situation in Stark
Landfills are a hot topic in southern Stark, northern Tuscarawas and Wayne counties, where residents have complained about the possible threat to drinking water and increased truck traffic.
The three landfills operating in the area -- Countywide and American in Stark County and Kimble in Tuscarawas County -- take in 17 percent of the trash produced in Ohio. [emphasis added].
American has a massive expansion pending. Expansion of Countywide is under appeal. Kimble already has been expanded.
Two new landfills -- The Ridge in northern Tuscarawas County and Indian Run in southeast Stark County -- have been proposed.
These expansions and new landfill proposals would not be affected by the proposed moratorium.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745.
Local Landfills Receive 17% of All Trash Dumped in Ohio
By Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer
Sun, Nov. 20, 2005
Two state legislators from Stark County are seeking a moratorium on new and expanded landfills in 13 Ohio counties until a federal study of surface and groundwater is complete.
That study by the U.S. Geological Survey is expected to begin soon and could take five years.
Ohio needs "a timeout'' on building and expanding landfills, especially in southern Stark and northern Tuscarawas counties, said Sen. J. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Twp., who is pushing for the moratorium with state Rep. W. Scott Oelslager, R-Plain Twp.
A moratorium is supported by environmentalists but opposed by the trash industry and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Schuring said it's difficult to predict the likelihood of the legislation's approval in Columbus.
The upcoming study by USGS hydrologist Ralph Haefner will look at aquifers and surface water in all or part of 13 Ohio counties in the Tuscarawas River Basin. Those include Stark, Summit, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.
The study will determine whether the water has been polluted by landfills and other sources, such as agriculture, industry, mining, gas and oil drilling, development and sewage, Haefner said.
The Stark-Wayne-Tuscarawas Joint Solid Waste Management District is funding the initial phase, which has a price tag of $374,000.
To cover that cost, the garbage district is using interest income from tipping fees that haulers pay to dump trash, said Executive Director David Held.
Completing the study could cost an additional $1,455,000, although officials said it is not clear how that would be funded.
Ohio's landfill capacity
Schuring saida moratorium would have little impact because Ohio has excess landfill capacity.
The state has enough capacity in existing landfills to last about 27 years, said Mike Settles, a spokesman for the Ohio EPA.
Ohio handles 21 million tons of in-state trash a year. It has 44 landfills and 73 construction-debris landfills.
Schuring said the water study will answer a question that has been raised for years: Are the landfills polluting the aquifers used by neighbors for drinking water?
"We don't know if we have problems or not,'' he said, "but this study will finally answer those concerns.''
The Schuring-Oelslager legislation would cover landfill expansions or new-landfill proposals that were not submitted to the Ohio EPA by Oct. 8.
It also would cover those landfills that handle construction and demolition debris.
A state-imposed moratorium on construction-debris landfills expires Dec. 31. It was imposed for six months while the Ohio General Assembly wrestled with toughening laws on building and operating such landfills. That issue is still in the legislature.
Reactions to proposal
The Schuring-Oelslager proposal has drawn rave reviews from environmentalists.
"It's a totally logical, prudent, conservative, appropriate thing to do,'' said Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council in Columbus. "It's altogether appropriate to look at the groundwater before any new landfills or expansions go forward. Contaminated groundwater will last forever. A timeout for five years to prevent a permanent problem is a better way to go.''
But Shaner said the moratorium should be statewide because Ohio, with its lower tipping fees and available space, remains a target for waste from other states.
The National Solid Wastes Management Association, a trade group, opposes moratoriums as a matter of principle, said the organization's president, Bruce Parker.
"There is no reason for a moratorium in Ohio at this time,'' Parker said, adding that it probably would affect interstate commerce, and that could trigger a challenge in federal court. Under the U.S. Constitution, states cannot pass laws that interfere with interstate commerce.
Ohio EPA Director Joseph Konchelik said that while the agency welcomes the water study, it sees a moratorium as unnecessary. Current state laws protect the environment, Konchelik said.
Situation in Stark
Landfills are a hot topic in southern Stark, northern Tuscarawas and Wayne counties, where residents have complained about the possible threat to drinking water and increased truck traffic.
The three landfills operating in the area -- Countywide and American in Stark County and Kimble in Tuscarawas County -- take in 17 percent of the trash produced in Ohio. [emphasis added].
American has a massive expansion pending. Expansion of Countywide is under appeal. Kimble already has been expanded.
Two new landfills -- The Ridge in northern Tuscarawas County and Indian Run in southeast Stark County -- have been proposed.
These expansions and new landfill proposals would not be affected by the proposed moratorium.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745.
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