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WEATHERSFIELD twp. Proposed landfill concerns ex-trustee
Former Weathersfield trustee concerned about proposed recycling center and landfill
Former Weathersfield Township Trustee John Vogel says he has concerns about a proposed construction demolition debris recycling center and landfill on the west side of Warren Avenue.
By Ed Runyan
WEATHERSFIELD
Former Weathersfield Township Trustee John Vogel has concerns about the township granting a variance to the zoning codes that relate to a proposed construction demolition debris recycling center and landfill on the west side of Warren Avenue.
Vogel, of Mineral Ridge, says he didn’t know until two weeks ago that the Weathersfield Township Board of Zoning Appeals granted variances in July for a project by Southside Environmental Group of Niles and Kurtz Brothers Inc. of Cleveland.
When he did find learn, he wondered why officials would allow “four main points” of the zoning code he wrote on construction and demolition landfills to be ignored for this project, he said.
What’s more, Vogel said he’s noticed that the site where the project is being proposed north of Waddell Park and about 300 yards south of Deforest Road already has a mound of unidentified material about 40 feet around and 35 feet high that he believes shouldn’t be there.
And finally, Vogel said he doesn’t believe there is any location in Weathersfield Township suitable for such a landfill because he doesn’t believe the township is equipped to handle the dangers it presents.
For example, because some recyclers reuse tires, Vogel said he has concerns that Kurtz will bring large quantities of tires to the site that could catch on fire. A tire fire is beyond the scope of the Weathersfield Fire Deparrtment, he said.
Township Trustee Gil Blair said he thinks concerns over the material at the site are unnecessary, saying, “My understanding is ... they have not begun any type of landfill operation.”
Blair said the matter is on the agenda for the township trustees meeting at 7 p.m. today, and he thinks some of the issues can be cleared up then.
Blair said Vogel “raises some valid concerns” and said he’s going to “look into them,” but he noted that the township isn’t the only government entity responsible for construction and demolition landfills; the county health department and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are also involved to ensure safety.
As for the mound of material there now, Jason Ziss, director of business development for Kurtz Brothers, said that is foundry sand, which is used in the metal-castings industry.
The material is a “clean, easy to reuse material” that Kurtz Brothers has been permitted by the EPA to collect and recycle at that site for close to two years.
“It’s really hard for people to go around the system, and Kurtz won’t be doing that,” Ziss said of the EPA and health department.
As for Vogel’s concerns about tires, Kurtz said the company doesn’t presently recycle tires because it doesn’t have the type of shredder necessary for that work.
And as for the potential danger of having a construction and demolition landfill, Ziss said, “I guess you could say ‘What if’ on anything. I just know what we do in Cleveland,” he said.
Blair has said that he and other township officials toured the Strongsville Kurtz Brothers recycling and landfill operation and came away impressed.
Ziss noted that the company understands that Trumbull County residents may be exceptionally concerned about such landfills because of the problems that were experienced with the Warren Recycling landfill. “Because of the experience you’ve had, we were cautious and put in restrictions,” Ziss said.
In January 2005, the U.S. EPA installed a leachate collection system to abate a health threat from hydrogen sulfide gas emissions caused in part by the excessive leachate at the Warren Recycling landfill.
“Warren Recycling is the poster child for reckless mismanagement of a landfill,” Marc Dann said in 2007, when he was Ohio attorney general. Vogel worked for Dann when Dann was state senator.
Matt Schimley, who works for Southside Environmental Group of Robbins Avenue in Niles, Kurtz’s business partner in the project, said last week that “everything we’re currently doing is under a classified permit or we would not be doing it.” He referred all other questions to Ziss.
Ziss said Kurtz Brothers and Southside Environmental are still negotiating on what Southside Environmental’s role in the operation will be.