Finalization of landfill’s closing may take awhile

By D.a. Wilkinson

LISBON — State officials aren’t sure how long it may take to permanently close the A&L Salvage Landfill.

Mike Settles, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said Monday the agreement between the state and the company is not final.

The landfill at 11225 state Route 45 ended operations Friday.

Settles said there was no date set for its final closure.

But Jim Hoppel, Columbiana County commissioner, said, “The problem is gone.”

The commissioners, since early 2007, met several times with residents who lived near the landfill as well as state officials.

Hoppel and Commissioner Penny Traina credited Commissioner Dan Bing with helping to resolve the problem.

Bing, however, said the credit goes to the neighbors who looked into the problems and brought them to attention of local and state officials. “They did it all.”

Steven Callahan, director of operations for A&L, could not be reached for comment.

Don Kibler of Lisbon, one of the residents who protested the company’s operations, said the agreement affected, “a ton of people who live around the landfill.”

Kibler said he will believe in the agreement once it is signed.

“I can’t get too excited until it’s done,” he said.

The tentative agreement also calls for the landfill to stop taking waste at the 42-acre disposal area. The tentative agreement also will prohibit any new landfills from operating on the A&L property.

Settles said that A&L controls a total of 384 acres at the landfill site that would be affected by the final agreement.

The landfill was licensed to take demolition debris and asbestos.

In recent years, state EPA inspectors documented many violations at the landfill that included excessive hydrogen sulfide and dust emissions, acceptance and disposal of solid wastes, improper handling and disposal of asbestos waste, failure to properly cover waste and improper managing of surface water.

Since Jan. 1, the state EPA received more than 60 odor complaints at the landfill. The state had about 67 complaints in 2008 and 171 complaints in 2007.

The odors will be addressed in the final agreement that would include A&L installing a permanent cap on the landfill and a gas management system.

Callahan said last October the landfill had scaled back its operations from 3,000 tons of demolition debris a day to about 1,000 tons. The landfill also was down to about 20 workers.

wilkinson@vindy.com