Smell the landfill?

The Akron Beacon Journal

COLUMBUS, OH - Ted Strickland has moved quickly on the environmental front. On Monday, his administration halted proposed rule changes that threaten to weaken the ability of the Ohio Environmental Agency to regulate landfill odors.

The indefinite delay requested by the new Democratic governor (who has not yet named an EPA director) will allow for additional public comment and redrafting of the rules to address the legitimate concerns of residents, such as those in Stark County's Pike Township, who live near landfills and must contend with miserable odors that substantially diminish the quality of their lives....Read more.

Ohio EPA reconsiders rules on landfill odor problems

By Bob Downing
The Akron Beacon Journal

COLUMBUS, OH - he Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering proposed rules on odors from landfills, including a smelly dump in southern Stark County.

The EPA has extended the public comment period on the rule changes to 5 p.m. Feb. 8. The agency then will refile the changes, which were proposed by the Taft administration....Read more.

Ohio EPA delays modifying air-pollution policy on odors

By Spencer Hunt
The Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS, OH - A stink in the air might not be harmful, but it still could be pollution.

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials said yesterday that they have shelved a proposal to redefine odor in a list of air-pollution problems it enforces. They made that decision after a call from Gov. Ted Strickland’s office....Read more.

EPA odors hearing draws strong protest

BY Paul E. Kostyu
The Canton Repository

COLUMBUS, OH - Don't do it.

That was the clear message sent Monday to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency by about 60 people who crowded into a hearing room to protest proposed changes to the state's air-pollution standards. The crowd overflowed into an adjoining room and included many who came by bus from Bolivar. Among them were state Rep. Alan R. Sayre, D-Dover, and David Held, executive director of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District.

The EPA proposed it not deal with all nuisance odors. It wants to disallow those odors that do not endanger public health, cause injury, damage property or are not restricted under other rules....Read more.

Waste District goes to battle

The Canton Repository

CANTON - Good luck to the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District in its newest fight to protect residents against landfill problems.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to stop investigating odor complaints that don't pose a health threat. This would mean that the EPA would not investigate such problems as the horrible odors that continue to emanate from the Countywide landfill in Pike Township....Read more.

Landfill fights activists

The Canton Repository

CANTON - The owner of the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility is asking a judge to stop environmental activists from continuing to enter areas at the landfill that are restricted due to “safety reasons.”

Republic Services of Ohio, which filed the suit Dec. 29, also wants the Stark County Common Pleas Court to order them to stop collecting information “to gain an unfair advantage in litigation,” such as taking temperature readings....Read more.

Raising a stink: Officials still fighting odor despite OEPA talk

By BARB LIMBACHER
The Times-Reporter

BOLIVAR – Area officials are not giving up their fight against the stench from Countywide landfill despite an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency representative’s comment that the odor has decreased.

Executive Director David Held will present a letter from the board of directors of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District at a hearing Monday at 2 of the OEPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control at Columbus....Read more.

Waste board fights EPA rule

BY Robert Wang
The Canton Repository

BOLIVAR - As area residents continue to suffer from landfill odors, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering rule changes that local officials argue would reduce the agency's ability to deal with such odors in the future.

The board of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District voted Friday to file an objection with the EPA. The board directed the district's executive director, David Held, to testify against the proposed changes at a public hearing the EPA is holding Monday in Columbus....Read more.

A special interest

The Times-Reporter

BOLIVAR - During the holiday season that just ended, Countywide Recycling & Disposal received a nice Christmas present, but it didn’t come from Santa.

Instead, it came from the outgoing director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Joseph Koncelik. On his last day on the job Friday, Koncelik recommended that the Stark County Board of Health not act on Countywide’s operating permit until the OEPA can determine if the horrible odor coming from the landfill just north of Bolivar has cleared up sufficiently....Read more.