LEAVITTSBURG Group fights change in permit for landfill

A public meeting is set for Nov. 21.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LEAVITTSBURG -- A citizens group opposes a Martin Luther King Avenue landfill's request for an air permit change, saying the landfill needs to fix its problems.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will have a public information session at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Warren Township administration building on a draft air permit for Warren Recycling Inc.
The company, which operates a construction and demolition debris landfill on Martin Luther King Avenue in the city, wants to modify its air permit for the landfill so it can accept more waste.
Group plans rally
Debbie Roth, president of Our Lives Count, a citizens group formed because of health concerns over the landfill, said the group plans a rally at 5 p.m. the same day at the administration building.
"The facility needs to be ordered to stop accepting waste until they can fix the problems they have," Roth said, adding that politicians and representatives of other environmental groups are expected to attend the rally.
OEPA regulations don't limit the amount of waste a construction and demolition debris landfill can accept, said Kara Allison, an agency spokeswoman.
But the permit change would allow more than double the amount of particulate emissions, or dust generated, from what is acceptable in the present permit.
If the permit change is approved, a dust-control plan also would become part of the permit, and violations would mean penalties, Allison said.
Dust control was one of the items included in a consent decree signed in July by representatives of the company and the Ohio Attorney General's office. The decree settled a complaint from the state alleging violations at the landfill.
Jack Stacy of Warren Hills, the company that manages the landfill, said the dust-control plan, most of which has already been implemented, involves the use of sprinkler systems and water wagons to keep a road damp and dust down.
Although the company may increase its acreage in the future, the permit change request doesn't address that.
"That's not on the front burner right now," Stacy said.
The request addresses increased production with the amount of waste taken in, he said.
Roth worries that more waste coming into the site means more problems.
"They're still getting notices of violations," she said. "It's not like there's been a complete turnaround. There's still dust, still subsurface fires and the past couple of weeks the odor has been horrendous."
Residents have complained for years about a rotten egg stench from hydrogen sulfide in the area which the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and OEPA have said emanates from the landfill.
Michelle A. Colledge and Gail Scogin, both ATSDR environmental health scientists, said there aren't guidelines on the state or federal level to enforce hydrogen sulfide levels. OEPA is applying standards available to them using the dust regulations.
Colledge said the agency hasn't seen engineering on the company's plans for increased waste acceptance.
"It's a fair concern that if you accept more waste you may have more problems," she said.
denise.dick@vindy.com