Landfill pact is a victory for Warren Township residents

Any way you cut it, the following headline, "Landfill gas presents 'urgent health hazard,'" that appeared on the front page of the Local Section in last Saturday's Vindicator represents a victory for Warren Township residents who have spent the past three years fighting Warren Recycling Inc.'s landfill on Martin Luther King Avenue.
Their persistence persuaded the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to delve into the rotten-egg stench that enveloped the community, and that, in turn, prompted the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registers to launch a study about a year ago.
The agency, a nonregulatory wing of the Centers for Disease Control, released the results last week. The bottom line: An "urgent public health hazard" exists for the area near the landfill -- Warren Recycling is managed by Warren Hills -- because less than one year of exposure to the gas could cause health problems that require rapid intervention.
ATSDR noted that hydrogen sulfide has diminished the quality of life for people living near the landfill and that it may be difficult for those residents to avoid exposure to the gas since it was found inside and outside their homes.
The federal agency also stated that landfill workers may be exposed to level of the gas that exceed occupational safety standards.
And the source of the stench? Mostly likely gypsum wallboard decomposing in landfill water.
Negotiations
The OEPA was already in negotiations with Warren Hills stemming from a 1998 violation when the landfill accepted industrial solid waste. The facility is licensed to take construction and demolition waste only, not household or other solid waste.
Before the release of its formal report, the federal ATSDR listed the area around the landfill as a public health hazard because of the hydrogen sulfide problem, but didn't list the landfill as the odor's source.
All these details point to the moral of this long-running story, namely, that grass-roots campaigns can get results when they're done right, when organizers remain undaunted in the face of government and public skepticism, and when the issue is one that legitimately deals with the health, safety or welfare of residents.
Lydia Burger, who can see the landfill from her back yard, seemed to reflect the sentiments of the citizens group, Our Lives Count, when she said that the findings of the state and federal agencies did not surprise her. After all, Burger has had to deal with the smell of rotten eggs around her house for the past three years.
"It's like living by a volcano; we don't know if it's going to explode or not," she said. "If it explodes what happens to us?"
Well, Burger and other residents can now rest easy. This week, the OEPA, which had threatened to file a lawsuit against Warren Recycling Inc., reached an agreement with the company that will address a variety of concerns related to the landfill. A consent agreement was signed by the OEPA, the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the operators of Warren Recycling Inc.'s landfill that lays out what must be done to comply with the law.
While some residents remain skeptical -- that is understandably given the uphill battle they have had to wage -- it is clear that the state and federal agencies will not allow Warren Hills to slide. Why? Because the consent decree is a court document that cannot be ignored or amended on a whim.
This is a victory not only for the residents of Warren Township but for the Mahoning Valley because it shows that while the region struggles to deal with its persistent economic problems, the spirit of the people has not been broken.