LORDSTOWN Will landfill fight lead to tougher laws?

A bill on other states sending refuse to Ohio was defeated last year.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- The fight by village officials and residents to keep a construction debris and demolition dump from opening could help lead to stiffer environmental laws in the state.
Mayor Arno Hill met earlier this year with state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood, D-65th, and state Sen. Marc Dann, D-32nd, about the landfill Lafarge North America Corp. plans to operate on Newton Falls-Bailey Road under the name Lordstown Construction Recovery.
The landfill, which was granted a permit renewal in January by the Trumbull County Health Department, is not yet operational. A lawsuit filed by village officials to stop construction is pending in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Checked into situation
During Monday's council meeting, Hill read a letter from Stabile Harwood, saying she had checked with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency about the situation. EPA officials told her the landfill meets all state requirements, but admitted Ohio's laws are lax about such sites, she wrote.
Stabile Harwood went on to say she was interested in sponsoring legislation that would make it harder for other states to send their refuse to Ohio, and attached such laws from nearby states like Pennsylvania and New York. Similar legislation, Senate Bill 199, failed last year in the Ohio House of Representatives.
"While we may not be able to stop the current dumping in Lordstown, we may be able to prevent this type of waste from entering Ohio in the future," she wrote.
Also at the meeting, council:
UAppointed Capt. Brent B. Milhoan as acting chief of police pending the appointment of a full-time chief. Milhoan will receive $4,075.58 per month.
UApproved an ordinance requiring anyone appointed chief of police or fire; road superintendent; parks, grounds and buildings superintendent; or planning and zoning administrator; after May 1, 2003, will be required to move into the village within one year of their hire date.
UAgreed to a tentative settlement with Vernal Paving Co. concerning construction of the tennis courts. The settlement comes from a 2001 lawsuit filed by the village against the company after cracks were detected shortly after the courts were paved. Under the agreement, the village will purchase the materials for Vernal Paving to repave the courts and the company will assume the costs of adjusting the net posts and partially removing and reinstalling the surrounding fence. The village will then pay for striping the courts.
slshaulis@vindy.com