OHIO LAW Regulatory panel inspects 3 landfills

The committee must make suggestions on new landfill regulations.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Changes in state regulations for landfills are coming soon, and those responsible for making those changes spent a little time visiting some landfills here.
A 13-member state committee charged with overhauling regulations for landfills in the state toured three landfills in Trumbull County on Tuesday. The committee must make recommendations on landfill regulations by Sept. 30.
The committee includes state Rep. Sandra Stabile-Harwood of Niles, D-65th, and state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd.
The committee arrived at Total Waste Logistics landfill first, just in time to witness three large trucks emptying wood and other debris onto an unloading zone.
Guy Fragle of Total Waste Logistics said the debris is sorted and checked several times before entering the landfill to make sure it contains no hazardous material or solid waste.
Here's a worry
One concern of many officials, and those living near landfills, is incoming pulverized material, or material ground to an unrecognizable state.
Many have said hazardous material and solid waste can be mixed in with the debris if it is pulverized.
Fragle said the material coming into the landfill from out of state was clearly recognizable as demolition debris.
Stabile-Harwood said various states determine what is considered identifiable debris differently, and Ohio has no means of stopping the immediate dumping of debris not considered identifiable by the state.
She said new regulations should include a way to stop out-of-state dumping not identifiable under Ohio law.
Dan Harris of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said identifying what is in the material is a system of checks and balances between the generator of the material, the transporter and the treatment and disposal facility.
Ultimately, he said, the facility is responsible for making sure no hazardous waste or solid waste enters the facility.
Harris said the Total Waste facility is checked regularly by the Girard Health Department and at least once a year by the state EPA.
Scott Winkler, also of the Ohio EPA, said several violations were found at the Total Waste Logistics facility in July.
He said inspectors found forbidden material at the site, a compactor that was not operable and an unloading zone not properly marked so that at least one truckload of material entered the dump site without thorough checking of its contents.
Winkler said the company has given the state an answer to the violations and the state is investigating.
Fragle said the current site is good for about 10 years of capacity. The company also is looking to open another site in Girard.
Lordstown site
The second stop for the committee was at the LaFarge Recycling facility in Lordstown. The LaFarge system is comparable to that of Total Waste Logistics, but both Stabile-Harwood and Dann said it was much more impressive.
Stabile-Harwood said the LaFarge site was better run with better general engineering of the site, no recycling of leachate -- the liquid runoff from the buried debris -- and testing for hydrogen sulfate is done. Hydrogen sulfate is a byproduct of such landfills and a concern for state officials.
Dann said the wide swing in the way the two facilities are operated shows the need "for more regulation and standardization of practices" for such facilities.
The legislators also agree that a major part of the committee's responsibility is to make sure state regulations do not allow another facility to operate like the Warren Recycling Inc. The Warren Recycling Inc. facility was the committee's final stop.
Warren Recycling is no longer accepting debris or any material, and U.S. EPA representatives are working at the site. Mark Durno of U.S. EPA said the site was generating large amounts of hydrogen sulfate gas that would make its way to neighboring residential communities.
Durno said the U.S. EPA has determined the largest section of the landfill was left open and collected large amounts of moisture, leading to the high levels of gas.
He said the goal is to cap -- cover with thick clay -- that landfill section, control the surface water and treat the leachate on the site.
Winkler said there is no economical way to recycle the gas, but new research is showing that a good clay cap can ultimately kill off bacteria that lead to hydrogen sulfate.
Hydrogen sulfate problem
Ramon Mendoza of the Ohio EPA said hydrogen sulfate is mostly seen in landfills that accept pulverized material. He said the state is putting together a guide book for construction debris and demolition landfills on the best management practices for handling hydrogen sulfate.
Durno said work costs at the Warren Recycling facility will run between $2.7 million and $2.8 million. He said officials are taking action against the facility's current and past owners and operators.
The company is now in bankruptcy court.
Stabile-Harwood said the ultimate goal is to make sure the state will not have to deal with a similar situation.
She said the former operators of the Warren Recycling facility are now running a facility in Fostoria, Ohio. The legislator said background checks are needed to make sure owners and operators of bad facilities do not move elsewhere in the state and set up shop.