Club 3000 - Ohio Landfills

11/21/2007 - Stark County Health Commissioner William Franks has decided to recommend that Countywide’s license be suspended. He told Countywide officials that failure to contain or extinguish the underground fire is one of the main reasons for his decision. Republic Services has filed a lawsuit to block the Board of Health from suspending the license, and the first hearing is on November 28. IF the license is successfully suspended, Countywide will have to close. See article in the Times-Reporter.

11/9/2007 - The public meeting with Director Korleski ran longer than expected as residents took this opportunity to air some of their frustrations with the situation. Director Korleski outlined some of his plans, which include “dewatering” the landfill in an attempt to contain the reaction and potentially excavating if that does not work. See article in the Times-Reporter.

11/7/07 - OEPA Director Chris Korleski wrote in a letter to Stark County Health Commissioner William Franks about his frustration with the situation at Countywide. He said he was disappointed that he had not been able to do more about the odor, the fire and the chemical reactions causing them. Officials from Republic Waste still maintain there is no fire and that the landfill is not a danger to human health or safety. See article in the Times-Reporter.

11/3/07 - After an executive session at the meeting of the board of directors of the Joint Solid Waste Management District, Kerry Metzger presented 18 pages of public records concerning Countywide Landfill. The records, which included internal correspondence, emails, a timeline of events, and other information, were submitted by an anonymous source in the OEPA Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management office in Columbus. The board has agreed to forward the information on to the US EPA for review. Director Korleski responded by saying that he has not yet reviewed the documents but he is “disappointed” that they were released without letting him know first. See article in the Times-Reporter. See the documents here.

10/30/07 - The OEPA has hired a consultant from Illinois to provide “slope stability expertise and review data”. The consultant, Timothy Stark of Stark Consultants, has been assisting the OEPA since the spring. He is studying the effects of the fire on the landfill, including whether or not the landfill liner has been compromised. See article in the Times-Reporter.

10/19/07 - Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski granted Countywide more time to install a firebreak, despite originally ordering them to have it completed by October 15th. Although Countywide still has a strict time frame in which to complete construction (within 22 days after approval of the project Countywide must stop dumping into cells 7 & 8A), no specific date for detailed plans has been reported. Tuscarawas County Commissioner Kerry Metzger has said that this may allow for an additional 191,000 tons of trash to be dumped in those cells before they are closed. See article in the Times-Reporter.

10/06/07 - Tuscarawas County Commissioners expressed their concerns over the OEPA’s handling of the fire at Countywide during the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District board meeting. Commissioner Kerry Metzger asked where the urgency was in finding a solution, while Commissioner Chris Abbuhl pointed out that OEPA Director Korleski believes the landfill is still “burning hot.” An increase in leachate, attributed to the fire, was also reported. See article in the Times-Reporter.

10/04/07 - Ohio EPA director Chris Korleski has ordered Countywide to install firebreaks between cells 8A and 8B. Analysis of the data Countywide presented in March has convinced the EPA that the fire is moving beyond the original 88 acres and possibly into the expansion. See article in the Times-Reporter.

11/02/07 - Tuscarawas County Commissioners expressed their concern that the OEPA may have other motives for moving so slowly on the Countywide situation. Commissioner Kerry Metzger said he believes the OEPA will receive an extra $668,500 for moving the deadline back from October 15. He arrived at this figure because the OEPA gets $3.50 per ton of trash dumped at the landfill. Commissioner Chris Abbuhl also commented that “there is no urgency…every time there’s been an order, there’s also been an extension.” See article in the Times-Reporter.

09/08/07 - Following the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District board meeting on Friday, Tuscarawas County Commissioner Chris Abbuhl asked the district to contact the OEPA. He requested that the district be kept up-to-date on any new developments regarding the potential settlement in the landfill slope and what, if any, measures are to be taken. See article in the Times-Reporter.