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The
Columbus Dispatch
www.dispatch.com
Legislator looks at
landfill rules
Holly
Zachariah
Monday, January 22, 2001
To aid
a grass-roots group fighting a proposed landfill on the
Clark-Madison county line, a state representative said she
might ask the governor to impose a moratorium on new landfills.
Rep.
Merle Grace Kearns of Springfield said the way the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency approves landfill sites
needs to be reviewed.
The
Republican cited recently published research by Ohio State
University that questions whether the most common soil type
in Ohio is suitable for trash dumps.
"In
light of this new report . . . we need to be very cautious
about moving expeditiously, if we move at all, in approving
landfills,'' Kearns said last week.
Last
year, the Ohio EPA approved six landfill applications. Some
involved changes at existing landfills.
Kearns
said she sent a letter recently to the Legislative Services
Commission to see whether Gov. Bob Taft could impose such
a moratorium.
The
Ohio EPA is working with other state representatives to
prevent a House bill from passing that would create a moratorium,
said Andrew Thompson, an agency spokesman.
"We
believe that the current landfill regulations are working,''
Thompson said.
He said,
however, that the EPA is working with legislators "to
hash out any new regulations that would be in the best interest
of the agency and the legislators.''
A citizens'
group that opposes the proposed landfill on property known
as the Mary Hunter farm on Rt. 56 asked Kearns for help.
The
property is located in northeastern Clark County and western
Madison County, about 30 miles west of Columbus.
AJ Resources,
a company owned in part by Statehouse lobbyist Tom Fries,
notified the Clark County Solid Waste District that it is
considering the site for a landfill, said Debra Karns, district
coordinator.
She
said she expects Fries to seek zoning approval in the next
few weeks.
About
100 acres of the 1,200-acre site would be used for the landfill.
It would be operated by Waste Management of Ohio, Karns
said.
She
said if wells drilled at the site indicate that the land
is suitable, her office would start a six- to nine-month
process to look at how a landfill could impact the community.
She
said the EPA's permit process likely would begin about the
same time.
Most
private trash haulers in Clark County take garbage to Stony
Hollow landfill near Dayton, Karns said. That landfill is
expected to close in five years.
"The
farther trash has to be hauled, the greater the expense,''
Karns said. "We need to address that now, not later.''
The
opposition group is led by Kevin Pullin, a homeowner in
Madison County's affluent 900-home waterfront development,
Choctaw Lake, about 2 miles from the proposed landfill.
He said
residents are concerned that the landfill could contaminate
groundwater. North Fork Creek, which drains into Choctaw
Lake, bisects the land where the proposed landfill would
go.
Pullin's
group has scheduled an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday
at Northeastern High School in Clark County.
Pullin
said he does not oppose the landfill simply because it could
be built near his home.
"There
are hundreds of sites in this country that will never be
inhabitable,'' he said. "That's where this country
should be parking its trash. The entire process is ludicrous.''
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