Taft to sign bill for restrictions on landfills

Girard residents hope the city's zoning laws will prevent a new facility.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Gov. Bob Taft is expected to soon sign a bill into law that backers say would reform the state's construction and demolition debris landfill regulations.
But Girard residents are disappointed the new law won't stop a proposed new landfill from operating in that city.
The Ohio Senate approved the measure 32-0 Wednesday. The House passed the same measure earlier this week.
The proposed Girard landfill, set to go on U.S. Route 422 near the Creekside Golf Dome, will be grandfathered in under the bill.
"We were hoping to get relief from the lawmakers in Columbus, and that just didn't happen," said James Dobson, city health commissioner.
Dobson said the city returned the application to Total Waste Logistics, the company hoping to open the landfill, in November with about 35 technical questions. He said it is up to the company to resubmit the application with the questions answered.
Dobson said the new bill as written would not have stopped the company from opening the landfill even if it were not grandfathered. He said the company would meet the requirements under the bill.
Fight not over
Sam Pagano, a member of the group Girard United Against Ruinous Dumping, hopes those in the city opposed to the landfill have another shot at keeping it out.
He said the area proposed for the landfill is zoned M-1 light industrial and is not appropriate for a landfill.
"The battle will continue. This is just one step. We will see where it goes from here, Pagano said. "The next step will be zoning."
The city zoning regulations for M-1 light industrial districts say the district was established to accommodate industrial uses, which have a minimum impact on the environment. The regulations list businesses suitable for the M-1 designation, none of which are landfills.
One stipulation in the regulations that GUARD members are counting on is a requirement that work in the M-1 area be conducted entirely in an enclosed building.
Mark Rickel, a Taft spokesman, said the governor will sign the bill before the end of the year. The new law becomes effective with Taft's signature.
Current state law says that proposed CD & amp;D dumps cannot be in a 100-year flood plain, nor can they be sited within the boundaries of a sole-source aquifer.
Stipulations
But the new law 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 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.
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 was not in effect, would be subject to current regulations.
The bill "will start a process that will protect our citizens," said state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd.
Senators tabled amendments that would have eliminated the grandfather clause and would have altered the proposed setback requirements.
XJohn W. Goodwin Jr., Vindicator Trumbull Staff, contributed to this story.