Smell test
AKRON - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency made the right call this week recommending that the Countywide landfill in southern Stark County be denied an annual operating license. Chris Korleski, the agency director, emphasized that he did not arrive at the decision lightly. He correctly seeks to use the leverage of his public office to see that persistent troubles at the landfill are addressed. For too long, those residing in the vicinity of the landfill have had to contend with foul odors.
Korleski recently visited the landfill and described Countywide as "significantly malfunctioning.'' That view has been reinforced by the analysis of Todd Thalhamer, an expert in landfill fires who works for the California EPA. Thalhamer examined Countywide and concluded that an underground metal fire caused surrounding garbage to smolder, triggering the odors that have afflicted neighbors. He stressed that the lower temperature of the fire means the landfill does not pose a health hazard.
As it is, Republic Services, the landfill manager, has taken steps to ease the odor, among other things, covering the affected area with a tarp. Yet, as Korleski put it, more work remains to be done.
What the Ohio EPA has in mind is withholding the operating permit until the fire and the smell cease. That won't translate into the facility closing immediately. It will continue to operate, the fire burning in an area that no longer takes garbage. Still, an incentive will be there: Repair the "malfunctioning'' element, or risk severe disruption to the business, an outcome with wide implications, given that Countywide is one of the state's largest landfills.
The Stark County Health Department received the agency recommendation. It would do well to take the cue of Ohio EPA. Korleski outlined a series of steps that the landfill follow to gain compliance. The measures include ensuring the integrity of the plastic liner and reporting data about settling of the landfill.
Thalhamer proposed that the state agency inject magnesium chloride or other fire-suppressing foams in an effort to stop the spread of the fire. Whatever the ultimate remedy, Korleski has arranged the priorities in proper order, defining the "primary objective'' as "the extinguishment of the subsurface fire and the elimination of the resultant nuisance odors that have unfairly and unreasonably prevented citizens from experiencing the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their homes and communities.''
The landfill industry often touts its tools for environmental protection. It is right, in many ways. Thus, it hardly seems unreasonable for the Ohio EPA to insist that addressing a fire and removing a miserable odor be the first orders of business.
