Warren's health board errs in granting landfill license

Observers of last Tuesday's meeting of the Warren Board of Health have good reason to wonder why, when given the opportunity to deflect blame for an important decision about the operation of a controversial landfill, the members didn't take it. Why would four of the five members put themselves in a position of being accused of not caring about the health, safety and welfare of residents of the city? Why would they put themselves in a position of having to justify their action when an appeal of their decision is filed by a citizens group?
On the face of it, the 4-1 vote to renew Warren Recycling Inc.'s license for 2003 to operate a construction and demolition debris landfill does not make sense. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had presented the board with an out. The OEPA had recommended the issuance of what is called a proposed denial of the license. That would have allowed Warren Recycling to continue operating the landfill and to request an evidentiary hearing before the health board.
On the basis of that hearing, the health department could issue a license, but postpone its final decision until an ongoing complaint filed by the OEPA against the company for violations the agency says occurred in 1999 is resolved. In fact, the state environmental agency recommended in early 2002 that the city health board not renew the permit for Warren Recycling's landfill because the company was not in "substantial compliance" with the law.
The issue of noncompliance has been referred to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
That is why the action by the four board members is so difficult to comprehend.
"It's not the popular vote, but legally, I don't see anything before this board to deny [the permit]," said member Peggy Scott.
Hydrogen Sulfide
What about the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's recommendation? What about the alleged violations that have been referred to the attorney general's office? What about the complaints from residents of a hydrogen sulfide stench they contend is emanating from the landfill?
And what about the 1999 violations charged by the OEPA based on Warren Recycling's acceptance of industrial solid waste at the landfill? The violations resulted in the company and some of its employees being convicted last year on misdemeanor charges.
The issue before the attorney general has to do with the civil aspects of the case. The company, the EPA and the attorney general's office are in negotiations on a consent decree to resolve the matter.
But the health board's granting of a 2003 operating license isn't just about members ignoring a recommendation of the state agency charged with enforcing Ohio's environmental laws. It's about placing the city of Warren in jeopardy with regard to its operating a health district.
Like the citizens group, Our Lives Count, which plans to appeal the board's decision to the state Environmental Review Appeals Commission, the environmental protection agency can also go to the commission. Such a move could trigger a review of the city's ability to operate a health district since the director of the OEPA maintains a list of approved local agencies.
Members of the board of health have an obligation to explain to the public why they acted as they did. The city of Warren now has a major headache -- and it isn't just from the stench that residents claim is coming from the landfill.