OHIO Lawmakers propose landfill bills

A landfill for construction debris wants to come to Hubbard Township.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The number of construction and demolition debris landfills in Ohio is growing and becoming a problem, two Democratic state lawmakers say.
"This is a serious problem," said state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th. "We have so little regulation."
Stabile Harwood and state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, pushed for their bills Wednesday in both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate that would revise the state's laws regarding construction and demolition debris landfills.
The bills, Dann said, would put in place "modest and fair" regulations for the landfills and would help protect the natural resources and neighbors near them.
"Too often, [construction and demolition landfills] emit harmful fumes and seepage that threaten the quality of life of people who live and work near them," the lawmakers said in papers supporting passage of their bills.
The bills, if passed, would:
UReplace the license fee for construction and demolition debris facilities with a disposal fee of 20 cents per cubic yard or 60 cents per ton that could help local health boards and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency with enforcement.
URevise the setback criteria for the landfills to 1,000 feet from a water supply well or a state or national park and 500 feet from a school.
URequire background checks for the operation of such landfills.
The information distributed by Dann and Stabile Harwood says there are 71 construction and demolition landfills around the state, with more expected.
Proposed in Hubbard
Jon Dowell, chairman of the Hubbard Township trustees, said the township just learned that a construction and demolition dump planned to locate in the township.
Dowell said the trustees discovered there was little they could do to prevent it from coming to the township.
"We started looking at what our options were," Dowell said. "They are limited."
Representatives of the construction and demolition landfill industry couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Dann's bill is pending in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Stabile Harwood's bill is pending in the House Energy and Environment Committee.
At least one environmental group is backing the bills.
Jack Shaner, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Council, a coalition of environmental groups around the state, said the bills were "deeply needed."