EPA: Landfill in danger of slides

CANTON (AP) — Cracks as wide as a half-inch along a wall at a problematic landfill in northeast Ohio should be fixed before a landslide takes place near a well-traveled highway, state environmental officials have warned.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency directed Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility in an Aug. 22 letter to measure whether the soil is slipping and consider installing engineering supports to strengthen a wall at the landfill, which runs next to Interstate 77 in Stark County’s Pike Township.

Residents and Club 3000, a local environmental group, have complained to the state EPA since 1999 about foul odors, underground fires and structural problems at the 258-acre landfill, said Tom O’Dell, the group’s spokesman.

The landfill is one of Ohio’s largest, handling about 6,000 tons of garbage a day from northern Ohio. Agency officials described it as “significantly malfunctioning” in February and named it one of its top priorities after it produced foul-smelling odors for months.

The landfill owner, Republic Services of Ohio, agreed to pay about $1 million in fines and other costs and to follow strict state orders to solve the problems.