Bill would change laws on construction dumps

Two local lawmakers voiced their support of the bill.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Senate is expected to consider a bill today that proponents say would reform how construction, demolition and debris landfills are regulated.
The Ohio House on Tuesday, by a 90-3 vote, endorsed the measure and forwarded it to the upper chamber. The proposal drew bipartisan support.
"It's certainly a significant improvement to what we have today," said state Rep. Randy Law of Warren, R-64th.
"I feel that it's a good bill, better than what we have," said state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th.
Current state law says that proposed CD & amp;D dumps cannot be located in a 100-year flood plain, nor can they be sited within the boundaries of a sole-source aquifer.
But the measure, sponsored by state Rep. John P. Hagan, an Alliance-area Republican, says that proposed CD & amp;D dumps can't be sited within 500 feet of a residence unless the owner agrees or unless the proposed dump owns the residence.
Also, under the measure, proposed CD & amp;D dumps must not be within 500 feet of a national or state park or recreation area or 100 feet from a so-called perennial stream.
The bill also contains a grandfather clause covering applications that already have been submitted to the state before July 1, the date a moratorium on new CD & amp;D dumps went into effect. The moratorium expires Dec. 31.
Girard residents
The new regulations may mean little to residents in Girard and members of Girard United Against Ruinous Dumping.
Total Waste Logistics took out an application for a license from the city health department June 9 and may be grandfathered. The company wants to locate a construction and demolition debris landfill on 19.9 acres off U.S. Route 422.
Members of GUARD could not be reached for comment.
Under the measure, applicants who've "acquired an interest in property," applicants who have begun a hydrogeologic study and engineering study and whose applications would have been complete if the moratorium were not in effect would be subject to current regulations.
Lawmakers shelved amendments that would have stripped the grandfather clause from the measure as well as altered the setbacks.
Much better
Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, an Ashland Republican, said: "Our objective would be to pass the bill. This bill that we have is a much better bill than existing law."
Mark Rickel, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Bob Taft, said the governor will sign the bill when it reaches his desk.
At least six applications for new CD & amp;D dumps are pending in Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said.
Those include two applications in Trumbull County, two in Morrow County, one in Mahoning County and one in Crawford County.