43
Controversial landfill proposed for Hubbard Township back on the table
By Ed Runyan
HUBBARD
A controversial construction and demolition debris landfill first proposed by Trans Rail America for the Drummond Avenue-Mount Everett Road area near Interstate 80 in Hubbard Township in 2004 once again is being proposed.
Frank Migliozzi, Trumbull County health commissioner, confirmed Wednesday that the company has revised and re-submitted its original proposal for a 20-acre landfill at the site.
The board of health authorized spending up to $8,000 for the engineering firm Lynn Kittinger and Noble to review the application and report back to the board on whether it meets criteria under Ohio law to be placed at that site.
The board has 90 days to respond to the application.
Migliozzi said several things have changed in the new application. Trans Rail did soil borings in one small area of the site in the first application, and Migliozzi asked that they do the borings in additional areas. Trans Rail refused, Migliozzi said.
For the newest application, additional borings have been done, Migliozzi said.
The first application produced years’ worth of litigation, when Trans Rail appealed the county health department’s determination that the first application was incomplete.
The legal battles included hearings with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals, Ohio Supreme Court and a $50 million lawsuit that was filed against elected officials.
According to the Ohio EPA, construction and demolition debris is material resulting from the construction or demolition of man-made structures. It does not include any material that is a hazardous waste, infectious waste or material removed from the structure prior to demolition.
Such debris may be reused, recycled or disposed in Ohio municipal solid waste landfills or C&DD landfills, which are required to meet siting, design, operating, closure and post-closure requirements and are prohibited from accepting pulverized debris.
An annual license to operate is required to construct and operate a C&DD landfill in Ohio.
Hubbard Township Trustee Fred Hanley said Hubbard-area residents have been calling since they learned that Trans Rail was resubmitting its application, but the township trustees have no authority over the application process.
Rick Hernandez, a longtime opponent of the project, said “proper geological studies” are needed before the application can be properly reviewed.
But in general, he thinks the site is a bad one for such a landfill because of the proximity to homes and the shallow water table there.
“It’s a terrible place to put it – not in a low-lying wetland,” said Hernandez, of Hubbard.