History suggested in fight about dump

Ohio & amp; Pennsylvania Canal was replaced by rail transport in the 1870s.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- A Niles couple is suggesting the city might use its transportation heritage as a tool to thwart a proposed landfill along the Mahoning River.
The approach is being taken by Thomas Harwood, whose has an interest in canal history; and his wife, state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, whose district includes Girard and who opposes a second landfill in the city. The first is located off Salt Springs Road.
Thomas Harwood was brought up in western Ohio and studied the Miami & amp; Erie Canal that once ran from Toledo to Cincinnati. It's that fondness for the canal history that has caused the couple to study the Pennsylvania & amp; Ohio Canal, which ran 82 miles from Akron to south of New Castle, Pa., he explained.
A portion of the canal ran along the northern bank of the Mahoning River in Girard.
The canal used both the river and canals that were dug out for transportation.
It's this history, Harwood said, that can be the basis of several Ohio Historical Society markers being placed along the former canal route.
In December 2005, then-Gov. Bob Taft signed into law House Bill 397, which placed restrictions on where construction and demolition debris landfills can be located. Among the restrictions is one saying that landfills can't be within 500 feet of a historical marker.
Thomas Harwood noted that could be an avenue to prevent Total Waste Logistics from creating a construction and demolition debris landfill on 19.9 acres on the south side of the Mahoning River across from Creekside Golf Dome on U.S. Route 422.
Total Waste Logistics, however, was grandfathered into the C & amp;DD restrictions by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The agency determined that Total Waste Logistics applied for its permit to operate in Girard before the restriction became law.
Health board appeal
The Girard Board of Health has challenged the Ohio EPA's ruling before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission in Columbus. The appeal is pending.
Harwood said she has been talking with other members of the House to find a way to change the date of such permit applications. She maintains that if a board of health determines an application is incomplete -- which is what happened in Girard -- the date of the new application should be the official date of application.
Since the EPA's ruling on the Total Waste Logistics application was made under a Republican administration, she wants to discuss the issue with Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat.
"You just can't go in and destroy a historic site," she added.
Regardless of the Ohio EPA ruling, Thomas Harwood said, an argument can be made that it doesn't address the historical value of the proposed landfill site.
Thomas Harwood said he was always angered that cities owe their existence to canal routes but don't celebrate the old transportation system.
It's history
He explained that the canal route began as an Indian trail along the north bank of the Mahoning. Later, frontiersmen created settlements along the same Indian paths, which became the tow path along the canal. One of those was Girard.
The P & amp;O Canal was constructed between 1835 and 1840, reaching Girard in 1839. The canal created wealth and reduced transportation costs, according to the Ohio Historical Society, as it connected to the Beaver and Erie Canal that led to Pittsburgh.
In 1835, the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad followed the same path as the canal, which it rapidly replaced. Ironically, the stockholders of the railroad were some of the same people who were canal investors. The P & amp;O traffic ended in the 1870s, and the land was sold in 1877.
"There is significant historical evidence to support historical markers along the north bank of the river," Thomas Harwood said.
The Ohio Historical Marker Program is administered by the state historical society. To qualify for a marker, the location must meet one of seven criteria. Harwood believes the P & amp;O meets two criteria: It made a significant contribution to broad patterns of history in Trumbull and Mahoning counties or is likely to yield information important to prehistory or history.
yovich@vindy.com