Landfill agreement would help fund new fire station

August 15, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

NEW SPRINGFIELD

A proposed six-year Mahoning Landfill host agreement and expansion will pay dividends to the township, including helping to fund a new fire station, several officials say.

The 29-year-old landfill on Garfield Road has been complying with all state laws and rules from the Mahoning County Board of Health, Trustee Robert Orr said during Wednesday’s 90-minute informational meeting at the Springfield Township Administration Building on East South Range Road.

The agreement among the township, Mahoning County commissioners and the Mahoning County Solid Waste Management District calls for the landfill to pay 10 cents per ton to the county on all waste disposed at the facility. The township would receive 25 cents per ton of waste disposed of there, with an increase to 50 cents per ton beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

The township is able to dump 200 tons of waste per year at the landfill without charge.

The total amount of waste the landfill can accept is 2,500 tons per day. Under the agreement, that figure would increase to 4,000 tons daily.

In addition, the agreement would help fund a new 14,000-square-foot fire station at Middletown and Unity roads, Orr noted, adding that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the county board of health and the Solid Waste District have authority over the landfill, not trustees.

Also, waterlines have been installed near the facility, so residents in the estimated 40 homes around the landfill have fresh water. In addition, vaulted liners are in place to protect the environment from the waste, Orr continued.

A permit via the Ohio EPA for any expansion can take up to seven years, he said.

The landfill is inspected roughly twice monthly, which exceeds state requirements, added Ryan Tekac, director of the board of health’s environmental- health division.

Also, the facility is tested more often than nearly any other in the state, noted Lou Vega, the county’s recycling director.

Dumping of infectious waste is prohibited in the agreement.