The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule changes for construction and demolition debris landfills, which could mean more protection for Ohio's groundwater but higher operating costs for some landfills in the Mahoning Valley.
According to officials at the Ohio EPA, acting on a request by Ohio legislators, the agency conducted a leachate study and determined that leachate from Ohio CDD landfills could pose a threat to public health and the environment if it were to be released to groundwater or surface water.
''What we've done is added some provisions for making sure that doesn't happen,'' said Linda Fee Oros, spokeswoman with the Ohio EPA.
If adopted, those new restrictions could apply to two licensed CDD landfills in Trumbull County, Total Waste Logistics LAS LLC in Girard and the Lafarge-owned Lordstown Construction Recovery in Lordstown.
A CDD landfill differs from other types of landfills, including municipal landfills, in that it can only take materials from buildings, said Linda Fee Oros, spokeswoman with the Ohio EPA.
But Tim Page, general manager of Lordstown Construction Recovery, said he does not believe increased regulations on leachate will not hinder operations there.
''Our leachate is not circulated. It's all treated and hooked up to the sewers and sent through the sewers,'' he said.
Page said his company is in discussions with the Ohio EPA regarding the proposed changes, but that they are very early in the process and that nothing has been decided.
Another area being discussed is in the increase in financial assurance required to be paid when licenses are issued each year.
''What they are asking for is more dollars per acre to be spent because the cost of closure has increased over the past few years,'' Page said. ''The materials you bring on site, the fuels and machinery, has gone up. So, there's definitely a need for an increase there of some sort.''
Not unlike other businesses, these types of landfills can be affected by the economy, which could cause them to close. If the business is unable to pay to properly close, the responsibility is then burdened on the state.
''You may have hard financial times and need to close. If the business doesn't generate enough money to pay for those costs, that would be a financial impact,'' Page said.
CDD landfills can only accept debris from construction and demolition activities; packaging resulting from the use of construction materials where the packaging is incidental to the load; tree stumps, trunks and branches exceeding 4 inches in diameter where the branches are clean of leaves and small branches; and asbestos-containing materials as long as a NESHAP air permit has been granted.
A CDD landfill is required to keep records of accepted and rejected waste loads, activities and the working face, preventing fires, proper management of surface water and leachate and prevention of nuisances or health hazards.
They are also required to monitor ground water if the facility is located near wells or an aquifer.
The process to have the proposed changes becoming rules is still in its early stages and the Ohio EPA is working to fine tune their proposals.
''At this point, we are looking at the comments we received and are working to incorporate those into our rules if changes are needed,'' Oros said.
A hearing will be held with Ohio's Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review regarding the possible rule changes. No date has yet been set for the hearing.
