Wants 10 percent of tipping revenue from all county facilities

By William K. Alcorn

alcorn@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

The county health department is seeking a fixed level of funding for its landfill inspection and ground-water monitoring programs, money for which has been cut nearly in half in recent years.

At its meeting Wednesday, Mahoning County District Board of Health members asked that the county commissioners insert language in the host agreement to address what happens with the funding level when tipping-fee revenue falls below the 2010 level.

The host agreement is a plan that limits the tonnage and kinds of materials that a landfill in the county can accept and sets the amount of money commissioners will give the health department for the inspection programs until the tipping-fee revenue falls below the 2010 level.

The agreement does not, however, address what happens when tipping revenue dips below the 2010 level, which occurred in 2013.

The health department regularly inspects the landfills, open and closed, and monitors residential water wells within one mile of the landfills.

For the programs, the health board received $400,000 in 2012, $390,000 in 2013; $230,000 in 2014 and $220,000 in 2015.

Patricia Sweeney, health commissioner, emphasized this not an adversarial situation with the commissioners or the Mahoning County Solid Waste Management District, a county agency, which collects the tipping fees.

Everybody recognizes they have to do more with less, she said.

The board just wants the county commissioners to recognize that the intent of the host agreement is to protect the public health, which is the purpose of the landfill inspection and water-well monitoring programs, Sweeney said.

In a recent meeting with county commissioners, Sweeney said the health department was offered 10 percent of the tipping revenue from Carbon Limestone Landfill in Lowellville, which would bring the health department about $180,000 a year.

The health board recommended that Sweeney ask the commissioners for 10 percent of revenue from all facilities, which would include Waste Management Mahoning Landfill in New Springfield, she said.