Waste Management Targets 2030 Opening for Ohio Landfill Residents Oppose

Waste Management has told Archer Township officials it wants to start construction of its proposed Toot Road landfill in 2028 or 2029 and open for business in 2030, according to the township's fiscal officer, who relayed the company's timeline to more than three dozen residents packed into a public meeting.

The meeting at the Archer Township hall off state Route 9 drew residents from across the Harrison County, Ohio, area, along with all three county commissioners. Township Fiscal Officer Renea Riesen opened the session by describing a conversation with a Waste Management representative.

Riesen said the representative told her the landfill project had been in development for more than 30 years.

"He said that they were ready to start construction and they want to start the construction project in 28 or 29 and be open for business in 2030," Riesen said.

How would waste reach the site?

According to Riesen, Waste Management plans to transport trash by rail and build a bridge on Toot Road. The project would also bring truck traffic to the area, she said.

The company wants to hold its own meeting about the project, but no date has been announced, Riesen told residents.

Traffic was not the only concern. Resident Ray Poillucci asked whether Toot Road itself would be closed. Riesen said that possibility had not been discussed.

"We don't want to abandon that road," Poillucci said.

What do the old agreements say?

Harrison County Commissioner Dustin Corder emphasized cooperation between township officials and the county commissioners, telling the room the project is a county problem, not merely a township one.

"Because I'm sure there's probably not a person in this room who wants this to happen, I would imagine," Corder said.

Corder said officials had been unable to locate an agreement believed to have been signed in the early 1990s. They did find two others:

• An agreement signed by the county commissioners in 2004
• An agreement signed by the Archer Township trustees in 2009

"The brief conversation I had with the prosecutor said that the '09 agreement would supersede anything that was signed prior to," Corder said. "Unfortunately, the agreement that was signed in '09 states that Archer Township agreed that the landfill was a pre existing non-conforming use."

That language matters for the zoning fight ahead.

Does the 1987 permit still bind?

Former Archer Township Fiscal Officer Bob Positano provided the project's history. He said the Chambers company, which Waste Management later acquired, began pursuing the project around 1987. The company obtained a permit to build, but not a permit to operate a landfill.

Positano said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency allowed the permit at the time but raised concerns about an underground mine shaft beneath the property.

"Their concerned about water and suitability and all the different things that they're concerned about and that's what put them in hibernation and said it was wrong then and it's wrong now," Positano said.

When township zoning was established, Positano said, nearly all of Archer Township was designated for agricultural use. The exception was a small area where the company had obtained its Ohio EPA permit for the landfill project.

"We could not have changed that," Positano said. "The attorney said, you know, that's preexisting, there's nothing you can do about that but what you can do, if they want to expand their operation beyond the permit site they had obtained from the Ohio EPA, they have to file for a variance because all their other properties are agriculture."

Positano said he believes Waste Management would need to appear before the township zoning commission to request a variance if it intends to expand beyond the previously permitted area. He also said he believes the matter would require voter approval in a special election.

"So, they need to settle with township people whether or not they can expand. Why have they been in hibernation for 40 years because they know they can't do it," Positano said. "And there's no reason to believe they can do it now."

What happens next?

Residents raised concerns about potential contamination of drinking water and questioned whether environmental impact studies had been conducted during the decades the project remained inactive. During the discussion, it was stated that Waste Management had taken steps to keep its permit active, but no additional details about environmental studies were provided.

The next township meeting is expected in December. With the large turnout, trustees discussed moving to a larger location in Scio or Jewett, but no decision had been made by the end of the meeting.

The milestones to track: a Waste Management public meeting with no announced date, a possible zoning variance filing before the township commission, and a potential special election on any expansion beyond the 1987-era permitted footprint.