Lawmakers extend moratorium on landfills pending revised rules

The Senate has agreed to extend the moratorium on the landfills four months.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- State lawmakers continue to work on revising state regulations dealing with construction and demolition debris landfills.
Ohio House Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering, said Wednesday a provision will be inserted into another bill before the end of the year that would extend by four months the current moratorium on new such landfills.
A six-month moratorium, authorized in the two-year, $51.2 billion state budget that took effect July 1, expires Dec. 31.
But Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, said he prefers the House pass a bill pending before it that would reform how construction and demolition debris landfills are regulated.
The issue came to a head Tuesday when the state Senate voted to extend the current moratorium for four months.
But minority Senate Democrats defeated a clause that would allow the measure to take effect immediately when passed by the House and signed by Republican Gov. Bob Taft.
Leaves window for landfills
Without the clause, the measure becomes effective 90 days after the bill is signed into law, a move that could open the door for new construction landfill applications before the moratorium extension takes effect.
According to news reports, Democrats were protesting a move by Republicans not to allow a change by Sen. Marc Dann, D-Liberty, to allow existing applications to go through only if they were submitted before May instead of July.
Dann indicated that some operators knew about the upcoming moratorium and were rushing their applications to remain under the old rules, according to news reports.
On Wednesday, the House approved the Senate-passed moratorium extension provision without the emergency clause.
Husted pledged to include the proposed moratorium extension with an emergency clause into another related bill when the House convenes next month.
"We have good bipartisan support for this in the House and we will find another vehicle in our December session ... to extend the moratorium," the speaker said.
Optimistic
That was welcome relief to some House members who've been wrestling with construction landfill issues in their districts.
"I'm comfortable that there's good faith that they're going to try and fix this," said state Rep. Randy Law, a Warren Republican.
Harris, the Senate president, said his preference is for the House to move the construction landfill regulation reform bill with a provision to allow it to become effective on the governor's signature, rather than extending the moratorium.
Harris, however, wouldn't rule out a new moratorium extension.
"There's plenty of time to pass that bill before the end of the year," Harris said.