Officials work on law to restrict landfills

Niles will combine landfill restrictions that Warren and Girard have in place.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Legislation is being prepared that would severely restrict landfills within the city.
Law Director J. Terrence Dull told city council Wednesday that he would have the draft legislation prepared for the Sept. 7 council session.
The landfill issue surfaced after Total Waste Logistics proposed a second facility in Girard for construction and demolition debris on 19.9 acres along U.S. Route 422, along the Mahoning River behind Creekside Golf Dome.
Total Waste Logistics operates a landfill along Salt Springs Road in Girard.
Dull told lawmakers during a roundtable discussion that he will combine ordinances already passed in Warren and Girard that essentially prohibit landfills in those communities.
Criteria used
The Girard measure contains a list of criteria that must be met before a landfill can be created. Warren's ordinance uses zoning as a deterrent because a landfill cannot be situated within 2,500 feet of residential property, Dull explained.
The law director said that he favors Warren's law because the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that zoning can be used as a criteria to limit the use of land.
Dull warned that the state's high court has ruled that local government can't ban anything that the state governs. The state allows landfills because it issues permits to operate them, he added.
Councilman Frank Fuda, D-1st, called for the discussion because of his concern that a second landfill in Girard will have a negative effect on Niles residents.
"You have to deter them from coming in," said Mayor Ralph A. Infante of landfill operators.
Infante suggested that the legislation being drafted call for a minimum of 50 acres on which a landfill can be constructed. The city has very few 50-acre sites.
Buffer zone
Although Warren's ordinance calls for a 2,500-foot buffer between a landfill and residential property, Fuda wants it expanded to 5,000 feet in Niles.
Fuda said he wants to be assured that air pollutants from a landfill don't reach neighborhoods.
Council President Robert Marino agreed with Fuda that a 5,000-foot buffer should be included in the legislation.
Fuda said any landfill should be required to post a substantial bond. He said Stark County required a $20,000 bond, but the county had to pay $265,000 to clean up a closed landfill.
There is now a state moratorium on the issuance of landfill permits as a commission reviews regulations governing their operation.
Also, local state legislators are looking for a regulation that allows pre-examination of debris dumped in a landfill. This is so it doesn't contain garbage, which is prohibited in facilities that accept construction and demolition materials.
Dull said pre-examination would give the state another tool for enforcing landfill regulations.
yovich@vindy.com