Concerned neighbors meet to discuss landfill problems
By Deanne Johnson
The Morning Journal
LISBON — Surrounding residents affected by the A&L Landfill on state Route 45 met Sunday night at the Taste of Country restaurant to discuss what can be done about their concerns.
The landfill, which often has been found with violations, is awaiting word from the Environmental Protection Agency on its 2007 permit and a permit to expand the site. The possibilities of either permit going through seemed preposterous to many residents at the meeting.
A&L, which was approved as a construction debris landfill, has been cited by the EPA for asbestos handling violations and solid waste dumping. As one man at Sunday’s meeting added, demolition debris items like wood and block in our advanced society now can be hauled in sealed barrels.
Residents at the meeting talked about problems affecting themselves and the immediate area surrounding the landfill, including the smell that permeates the air, and the dust, mud and other items coming onto the roadway from the 42-acre landfill site.
One woman in the crowd questioned aloud what is in that mud that she must drive through to get home and still is stuck on her tires when she pulls into the garage.
Another man questioned the problems along the sides of the state route and the water used to wash the mud away that ends up in the neighbors’ yards. He questioned whether that was not the jurisdiction of the local county health department.
Tom Baronzzi, one of two spokesmen at the meeting, said they talked to the county health department more than a year ago, but were dissatisfied with the response.
“We told them ‘you have a responsibility for the health of everyone outside of those 60 acres,’” Baronzzi said. “‘Check our wells. Check our air.’ They haven’t done that. We’re real disappointed.”
The odor reportedly has been identified as hydrogen sulfide gas, which according to a U.S. Department of Labor Web site, can cause many inflammatory and respiratory conditions, including an eventual loss of smell. Baronzzi pointed out that anyone who drives past the site and breathes the dust is a potential victim.
Leacheate water seeping from the landfill was another concern to residents in the area, especially with wells and Patterson Creek in the area, which leads to a fork of the Beaver Creek. Baronzzi likened the situation to a teabag, which is creating a toxic soup of hazardous medical waste and illegally pulverized dust which is flowing onto nearby properties underground.
He said A&L made a deal with the EPA that requires them to monitor the leacheate for five years coming from the phase I section of the landfill, where they were cited for dumping solid waste. According to Baronzzi, the normal monitoring requirements for a solid waste landfill is 30 years.
Another woman in the crowd asked if they should be collecting the debris blowing into their yards from the landfill, which includes personal and business banking records from New York and New Jersey. She questioned how people in those states would feel about their account numbers blowing around Ohio.
Baronzzi, who serves as juvenile probate judge, said his position on the bench prohibits him from providing any legal advice to those in the area, where he also lives. However, he and Don Kibler, due to their own concerns, have been in constant contact recently with the EPA looking at what can be done.
“I’m here because I’m fighting my problem,” Baronzzi said, “and I want you to help me.”
Baronzzi asked residents to sign a petition, which he said demands several things from the local officials, the county health department and the EPA. It reportedly calls for an immediate termination of illegal dumping at the site, as well as, the removal of those illegally dumped items from the landfill.
“Take it out of there,” Baronzzi said. “You made millions of dollars putting it in there. I don’t care what it costs to take it out of there.”
It further requests an environmental study be done to find out what the impact has been. Then it asks for civil enforcement and criminal action against the landfill for what has been done.
The petitions are available at the office of Commissioner Dan Bing, who attended the meeting Sunday along with Commissioner Jim Hoppel. Bing said his office can be contacted by calling 424-9511, ext. 1155, and he encouraged people to call to get more petitions.
Besides the commissioners, it was suggested residents should contact other local officials and even Gov. Ted Strickland, who appoints the leadership of the state EPA.
The group also suggested residents should file verified complaints to the EPA, which the EPA reportedly must investigate and to which they must respond within about 14 days. Some residents said they already filled them out in February, but still await a response.
One woman said she feels with all the violations she believes the EPA should have the common sense to know not to issue the new reports, but Baronzzi said not to assume too much.
The first step for the residents, according to Baronzzi, is getting the illegal dumping stopped. However, it also was discussed that a future move may be a lawsuit for damages for residents in the area, although Baronzzi said he could not advise them either way about a lawsuit.
Another meeting is planned tentatively for about three weeks from now but will be held at a larger place, according to Baronzzi. The crowd Sunday, which they believe is not nearly everyone who would want to be involved, packed the top floor of the Taste of Country.
The Morning Journal
LISBON — Surrounding residents affected by the A&L Landfill on state Route 45 met Sunday night at the Taste of Country restaurant to discuss what can be done about their concerns.
The landfill, which often has been found with violations, is awaiting word from the Environmental Protection Agency on its 2007 permit and a permit to expand the site. The possibilities of either permit going through seemed preposterous to many residents at the meeting.
A&L, which was approved as a construction debris landfill, has been cited by the EPA for asbestos handling violations and solid waste dumping. As one man at Sunday’s meeting added, demolition debris items like wood and block in our advanced society now can be hauled in sealed barrels.
Residents at the meeting talked about problems affecting themselves and the immediate area surrounding the landfill, including the smell that permeates the air, and the dust, mud and other items coming onto the roadway from the 42-acre landfill site.
One woman in the crowd questioned aloud what is in that mud that she must drive through to get home and still is stuck on her tires when she pulls into the garage.
Another man questioned the problems along the sides of the state route and the water used to wash the mud away that ends up in the neighbors’ yards. He questioned whether that was not the jurisdiction of the local county health department.
Tom Baronzzi, one of two spokesmen at the meeting, said they talked to the county health department more than a year ago, but were dissatisfied with the response.
“We told them ‘you have a responsibility for the health of everyone outside of those 60 acres,’” Baronzzi said. “‘Check our wells. Check our air.’ They haven’t done that. We’re real disappointed.”
The odor reportedly has been identified as hydrogen sulfide gas, which according to a U.S. Department of Labor Web site, can cause many inflammatory and respiratory conditions, including an eventual loss of smell. Baronzzi pointed out that anyone who drives past the site and breathes the dust is a potential victim.
Leacheate water seeping from the landfill was another concern to residents in the area, especially with wells and Patterson Creek in the area, which leads to a fork of the Beaver Creek. Baronzzi likened the situation to a teabag, which is creating a toxic soup of hazardous medical waste and illegally pulverized dust which is flowing onto nearby properties underground.
He said A&L made a deal with the EPA that requires them to monitor the leacheate for five years coming from the phase I section of the landfill, where they were cited for dumping solid waste. According to Baronzzi, the normal monitoring requirements for a solid waste landfill is 30 years.
Another woman in the crowd asked if they should be collecting the debris blowing into their yards from the landfill, which includes personal and business banking records from New York and New Jersey. She questioned how people in those states would feel about their account numbers blowing around Ohio.
Baronzzi, who serves as juvenile probate judge, said his position on the bench prohibits him from providing any legal advice to those in the area, where he also lives. However, he and Don Kibler, due to their own concerns, have been in constant contact recently with the EPA looking at what can be done.
“I’m here because I’m fighting my problem,” Baronzzi said, “and I want you to help me.”
Baronzzi asked residents to sign a petition, which he said demands several things from the local officials, the county health department and the EPA. It reportedly calls for an immediate termination of illegal dumping at the site, as well as, the removal of those illegally dumped items from the landfill.
“Take it out of there,” Baronzzi said. “You made millions of dollars putting it in there. I don’t care what it costs to take it out of there.”
It further requests an environmental study be done to find out what the impact has been. Then it asks for civil enforcement and criminal action against the landfill for what has been done.
The petitions are available at the office of Commissioner Dan Bing, who attended the meeting Sunday along with Commissioner Jim Hoppel. Bing said his office can be contacted by calling 424-9511, ext. 1155, and he encouraged people to call to get more petitions.
Besides the commissioners, it was suggested residents should contact other local officials and even Gov. Ted Strickland, who appoints the leadership of the state EPA.
The group also suggested residents should file verified complaints to the EPA, which the EPA reportedly must investigate and to which they must respond within about 14 days. Some residents said they already filled them out in February, but still await a response.
One woman said she feels with all the violations she believes the EPA should have the common sense to know not to issue the new reports, but Baronzzi said not to assume too much.
The first step for the residents, according to Baronzzi, is getting the illegal dumping stopped. However, it also was discussed that a future move may be a lawsuit for damages for residents in the area, although Baronzzi said he could not advise them either way about a lawsuit.
Another meeting is planned tentatively for about three weeks from now but will be held at a larger place, according to Baronzzi. The crowd Sunday, which they believe is not nearly everyone who would want to be involved, packed the top floor of the Taste of Country.
