Board certifies operating plan
Solid Waste Authority hears from Apex ownersBy DAVE GOSSETT, Staff writer
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WINTERSVILLE - The Jefferson-Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority board of trustees officially certified a proposed 15-year operating plan that will now be sent to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for approval.
Authority members also saw a preview of the Apex Landfill expansion plans that will be detailed today at a public meeting at Springfield Middle School.
The operating plan certification Wednesday was the latest step in a year-long process that will see the authority emerge from under a plan written and mandated by the OEPA in July 2004.
"When I was interviewed for the executive director's job in December 2004, I was asked if I could get an operating plan ratified by both counties. I can tell you today that I can and have done so," said Patrick Lanaghan, authority executive director.
"We have seen ratification by the elected governments representing 60 percent of the population in Jefferson County and by the elected officials representing 75 percent of the Belmont County residents. The two largest cities in our district, Steubenville and Martins Ferry, have approved the plan as well as the county commissioners in both counties," said Lanaghan.
"We will now send our certified copy to the OEPA in Columbus and when the agency director signs off, we will be operating under our own plan for the first time," said Lanaghan.
"This is a great day in solid waste management. This is a great day for us because we can move from a plan written by the OEPA to our own plan. We can now prepare to do even better things for both counties," stated Mark Thomas, board chairman.
"I give credit to past board members as well as the current board for working through this process and getting this plan ratified in both counties," added Thomas.
The new plan has been in a evolving draft form since last year and has undergone several revisions.
'We have now gone from one end of the spectrum to the other end. We will have continued efforts as to recycling. The more we do the better we are long term. We will see the semblance of a reduction of local waste going into the landfill," Thomas said.
"This authority has and will continue to make great progress to do what needs to be done under Ohio law. We are making great strides with the Ohio EPA," Thomas added.
"I see an ongoing evolution of the solid waste authority. There will be drastic positive changes going forward. We will be more visible, more verbal and more responsive to the public," Thomas said.
Authority members also heard from the Apex Landfill managers who will host a public meeting today at 7 p.m. to detail a request to increase the operations at the landfill. "We are currently receiving up to 5,250 tons of municipal solid waste a day and our application to the OEPA is asking for an increase to 10,000 tons a day," said Ross Patten, chairman of Environmental Logistics Services, the parent company of the Apex Landfill.
Patten told authority members the landfill is operating with, "two waste compactors, three excavators, five dozers, eight trucks and a locomotive to move the rail cars. We have odor control facilities at the working face of the landfill as well as the railyard, and a weather station. And steps will be taken to control odors created by opening up the slope when we increase the vertical height of the landfill."
According to Operations Manager Rick Barr, the landfill is currently looking at a gas extraction system, "that should be installed by the end of 2008 and in operation by the end of 2009."
"We will extract enough gas from the landfill to create power for 17,500 homes, added Patten. We will sell the power to a local utility who will then sell the power to residential customers," Patten said.
Patten also said the landfill owners plan to create a wildlife habitat.
"We will work with the local people to determine what is best suited for the wildlife habitat. We also have projects planned in the area including cleaning up a stream in Amsterdam that has been contaminated by a coal spill," said Patten.
"We are prepared to go through a series of public meetings where people can voice their opinions. I can tell you we want to be part of the local community. Our managers are instructed to do business with the local community," said Patten.
"We have also started discussions with Lanaghan to discuss ways to accept municipal solid waste from the local communities that currently haul their waste to West Virginia," said Patten.
"We have spent millions of dollars since we came here in late 2007 and we will continue to make improvements," added Patten.
Tom Gardner, representing the Tri-County Concerned Citizens, attended the meeting Wednesday but, "deferred all comments until the public meeting."
Jefferson County Commissioner Adam Scurti urged the Apex Landfill operators to contact the four Waste Management-operated landfills in Allegheny County.
"Those landfills operate within 100 feet of population areas yet there are no complaints about odor problems. They appear to be operating very successfully without any issues. You have spent a lot of money to control odors and it has failed to stop the odors," Scurti said.
Patten invited the authority to hold a monthly board meeting at the landfill's offices.
Authority member and Jefferson County Health Department Administrator Bruce Misselwitz reported the landfill has received, "two notice of violations for odor. The landfill plans to challenge both violation notices at our health department board meeting next week."
"We believe they were not addressing the odor problems at the rail yard when the railroad cars arrived. They put up one odor control device in the rail yard when they had about 112 cars in the yard. We believe a lot of the odors is from the rail yard was going up the hollow to the residences in that direction. They have finally started listening to us on this," said Misselwitz.
"We are still working with the county prosecutor and are taking affidavits from the local residents. The fly issue has died down but we have concerns about the noise and dust control as well as the odor issues," reported Misselwitz.
In other matters, the board approved its tentative 2009 operating budget, and the board approved two resolutions that will seek banking institutions for the authority's deposits.
"We need to consider the liquidity of the banks and the proximity of the banks to our administrative offices as well as the level of on line services," said fiscal officer David Hays.
Authority members were also told a proposed community service program that will mean the hiring of a community services coordinator to work with the Jefferson County judges to use misdemeanor offenders for community clean up projects is progressing.
Lanaghan said the authority will, "either advertise for the position or will list it with Jobs Connections offices in both counties. I believe we will have a final agreement with the local judges in the near future."
Lanaghan reported the second quarter recycling reports are completed, "and continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
"The paper recycling in Belmont County in the second quarter has nearly doubled from the second quarter in 2007. In Jefferson County, paper recycling in the second quarter of this year was 483,760 pounds as compared to 254,920 pounds in the second quarter of 2007. The total paper and co-mingled recycling efforts in both counties for the second quarter this year was 1,100,680 pounds as compared to 577,828 pounds during the 2007 second quarter," explained Lanaghan.
The authority tentatively scheduled the next regular board meeting for 5 p.m. Aug. 11 in the authority's offices in Wintersville.
(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)
