Battle amps up: Officials take new measures in odor fight
The Times-Reporter
BOLIVAR – Legal efforts to combat odors coming from Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility received additional support Friday.
After an executive session, the board of directors of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District unanimously approved two motions made by Tuscarawas County Commissioner Kerry Metzger.
The first was for the district’s legal counsel to file a motion to intervene with the appeal by Countywide, located in Pike Township of Stark County, to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission at Columbus. The purpose is to give the district standing in the ERAC proceedings when the commission hears Countywide’s appeal of findings and orders issued Sept. 6 by Director Joseph Koncelik of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The district wants to be able to provide information to explain its opposition to the appeal at the hearing, Metzger said.
The OEPA has declared Countywide a public nuisance for the odor coming from the site. The landfill, owned by Republic Services of Ohio, has a Dec. 15 deadline to clean up the problems and odor. The board of directors is opposed to the request from Countywide for an appeal.
The second motion called for filing an appeal with ERAC regarding the OEPA director’s findings and orders of Sept. 6.
Metzger said this is a separate issue and the board feels that the OEPA director’s orders “did not go far enough and were too lenient.”
“There should have been substantial fines and penalties for Countywide’s violation of their permits,” Metzger said. “Consideration should have been given to prevent the facility from accepting any more waste until the problems are resolved, and not have to wait until Dec. 15.”
The action was taken because the district’s attorneys only had until Friday at 4:30 to file the appeal.
