EPA negotiating dump fix
The Akron-Beacon Journal
PIKE TWP - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the company that owns and operates the Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility in southern Stark County have begun negotiations on orders to end the problems there.
The two sides huddled on Wednesday and progress was made, though a final agreement was not reached, both sides said.
EPA Director Chris Korleski wants Countywide to take aggressive measures to eliminate an underground fire and odors at the 258-acre landfill in Pike Township.
The state is calling for suppression of the fire and chemical reaction occurring in an older, 88-acre section of the landfill.
The EPA "does not intend to comment'' on proposals in the agency's 27-page proposed findings against the company until an agreement is reached, EPA spokesman Mike Settles said.
Those findings and orders are "a starting point'' for the negotiations, he said, adding that the goal is to get a final agreement within 30 days.
Korleski said he is "willing to try and resolve this matter amicably and expeditiously through negotiated orders.''
The other option would be to sue through the Ohio attorney general's office -- a process that would be costly and take a long time, he said in a letter to landfill owner Republic Services of Ohio.
Tim Vandersall, general manager of Countywide, said the company was confident it would be able to comply with the EPA findings.
"Our commitment to 100 percent compliance has never wavered,'' Vandersall said.
In September, the EPA declared the landfill a public nuisance and issued findings against it because of odor problems.
The company contends that it complied with those orders and the odor problem has largely been eliminated.
The EPA, however, says the odor problem persists.
And last month, an expert hired by the EPA concluded that an underground fire is smouldering at the landfill and a chemical reaction also is occurring there, caused by liquid runoff coming into contact with aluminum wastes.
Because of those problems, Korleski recommended that the Stark County Health Department deny Countywide an operating permit for 2007.
So far, the health board has not acted on the permit.
