LEAVITTSBURG Meeting lays open landfill concerns

The goal is compliance and harmony.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LEAVITTSBURG -- Despite improvements company officials say they've made at a Martin Luther King Avenue landfill, residents say odors there haven't been reduced.
That was one of the issues that came up Thursday in a meeting among members of Our Lives Count, officials from Warren Hills Inc., U.S. and Ohio Environmental Protection agencies, Warren and Trumbull County health departments and the Mahoning-Trumbull Air Pollution Control Agency.
It was the first in what is expected to be a series of meetings aimed at improving communication among the parties involved.
Longtime complaints
For years, residents around the landfill have complained of a hydrogen sulfide rotten-egg odor. Our Lives Count formed out of concerns about the possible health risks associated with the stench.
Warren Hills, the company that manages the landfill, has implemented improvements such as establishment of a hydrogen sulfide monitoring system, containment and elimination of most of the leachate ponding areas, and dust control systems in response to a consent agreement reached with the Ohio Attorney General's office last year.
The consent agreement was to settle violations stemming in part from a case that resulted in criminal charges against the landfill in 2001 because it accepted solid waste.
"We're not getting any less sick out here," said Debbie Roth of Our Lives Count. "We're getting sicker."
Dick Sargeant, a Toledo attorney who represents the company, said residents should be noticing a difference.
'"It's discouraging to hear that you haven't seen a difference," he said. "That suggests there may be another source."
Paul Ruesch, environmental engineer at U.S. EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, said the goal of the meetings is for the facility to be in compliance with regulations and not causing problems within the community. He classified the objective as establishing a format for ongoing communication and information sharing.
All of the parties attending agreed that better communication is needed.
Manager's assertion
Paul Barley, operations manager for Warren Hills, said he's tried to find the source of the odor so it can be dealt with, but there are times when it's evident and then dissipates.
"It's like a ghost," he said.
Robert Pinti, deputy city health commissioner, said a cooperative effort is required to deal with the problem. If people think the hydrogen sulfide gas is causing their health problems, they need to inform their physician and get documentation to that effect.
Roth thinks it's the company's responsibility to fix the problem.
"If I knew how to fix it, it would have been fixed yesterday," she said.
denise.dick@vindy.com