EPA tells landfill to install firebreak
BY Robert Wang
The Canton Repository
PIKE TWP - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that an underground fire is spreading throughout the original 88 acres of the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility.
In a letter dated Monday, EPA Director Chris Korleski said that the fire could be moving into Cell 7, the first constructed section of the landfill's 170-acre expansion, which began taking waste in early 2005.
Korleski has ordered the landfill to take safety precautions - one in the form of a cleared strip of land - to keep the fire from spreading.
"In an effort to prevent further spread of the fire and to avoid adding additional fuel (waste) to the fire, I believe installation of a firebreak is required to protect human health, safety and the environment," Korleski wrote.
"Among other concerns, any firebreak that does not completely and physically separate the 88 acres from the current operating cell may result in the current working face and permitted expansion area being consumed by fire."
Korleski wrote that he based his conclusion of a migrating fire on analysis of carbon monoxide levels, temperatures, the formation of tension cracks and landfill settlement, outbreaks of liquid waste, odors, the presence of charred waste and other observations. Residents have repeatedly complained about foul odors in the past.
FIREBREAK
A 15-acre area to the north of Cell 7 known as Cell 8A, which is in the northwest area of the landfill several hundred feet east of Interstate 77, is now the only section taking waste, a zone known as the working face. Korleski said that Countywide can no longer dump any trash there after Oct. 15.
Instead, Countywide would be allowed to place garbage in Cell 8B, a 13-acre area north of the other section, once the EPA certifies that it's environmentally sound. The review process would be sped up, Korleski wrote . The EPA will require the area between 8A and 8B not to have any waste, so the fire is contained.
"The whole idea of this is to keep from ... feeding the fire," said EPA spokesman Mike Settles. "If you're putting new waste into the area, you're giving it the opportunity to migrate to a new source of energy potentially."
Settles said the agency wants to prevent the fire from damaging the plastic liner that keeps waste from leaking out of the landfill and from melting gas wells that help minimize odors.
COUNTYWIDE: MUCH ADO
Countywide has said the heating event is a chemical reaction, not an underground fire. Countywide's general manager, Tim Vandersall, said he believes the reaction is contained, it's not spreading and that it'll eventually suffocate on its own. He said he's seen no evidence of damage to the liner or gas wells.
"We don't necessarily agree with their conclusion, but we're going to do everything in our power to comply with their orders," he said.
Assuming the EPA certifies Cell 8B by Oct. 15, Vandersall does not anticipate any effects on waste disposal. Countywide accepts about 6,000 to 7,000 tons a day. However, the EPA's order, at least temporarily after Oct. 15, prevents Countywide from dumping any more garbage in Cells 7 and 8a, which could have the capacity to take in about another year's worth of waste.
Vandersall expects to submit data to the EPA showing that the reaction is not spreading, in hopes that the agency will allow the other cells to reopen.
The Countywide manager anticipates the separation area between cells would be at least five feet wide.
In February, the EPA concluded a fire was burning at Countywide due to a reaction involving aluminum waste and water, a mix that inundated residents with foul odors. In March, after negotiations between Countywide and the EPA, Countywide agreed to come up with a fire suppression plan.
The EPA is still evaluating Countywide's latest proposal on dealing with the heat-generating event, Vandersall said, but "we don't have any silver bullets to stop the thing."
The Canton Repository
PIKE TWP - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that an underground fire is spreading throughout the original 88 acres of the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility.
In a letter dated Monday, EPA Director Chris Korleski said that the fire could be moving into Cell 7, the first constructed section of the landfill's 170-acre expansion, which began taking waste in early 2005.
Korleski has ordered the landfill to take safety precautions - one in the form of a cleared strip of land - to keep the fire from spreading.
"In an effort to prevent further spread of the fire and to avoid adding additional fuel (waste) to the fire, I believe installation of a firebreak is required to protect human health, safety and the environment," Korleski wrote.
"Among other concerns, any firebreak that does not completely and physically separate the 88 acres from the current operating cell may result in the current working face and permitted expansion area being consumed by fire."
Korleski wrote that he based his conclusion of a migrating fire on analysis of carbon monoxide levels, temperatures, the formation of tension cracks and landfill settlement, outbreaks of liquid waste, odors, the presence of charred waste and other observations. Residents have repeatedly complained about foul odors in the past.
FIREBREAK
A 15-acre area to the north of Cell 7 known as Cell 8A, which is in the northwest area of the landfill several hundred feet east of Interstate 77, is now the only section taking waste, a zone known as the working face. Korleski said that Countywide can no longer dump any trash there after Oct. 15.
Instead, Countywide would be allowed to place garbage in Cell 8B, a 13-acre area north of the other section, once the EPA certifies that it's environmentally sound. The review process would be sped up, Korleski wrote . The EPA will require the area between 8A and 8B not to have any waste, so the fire is contained.
"The whole idea of this is to keep from ... feeding the fire," said EPA spokesman Mike Settles. "If you're putting new waste into the area, you're giving it the opportunity to migrate to a new source of energy potentially."
Settles said the agency wants to prevent the fire from damaging the plastic liner that keeps waste from leaking out of the landfill and from melting gas wells that help minimize odors.
COUNTYWIDE: MUCH ADO
Countywide has said the heating event is a chemical reaction, not an underground fire. Countywide's general manager, Tim Vandersall, said he believes the reaction is contained, it's not spreading and that it'll eventually suffocate on its own. He said he's seen no evidence of damage to the liner or gas wells.
"We don't necessarily agree with their conclusion, but we're going to do everything in our power to comply with their orders," he said.
Assuming the EPA certifies Cell 8B by Oct. 15, Vandersall does not anticipate any effects on waste disposal. Countywide accepts about 6,000 to 7,000 tons a day. However, the EPA's order, at least temporarily after Oct. 15, prevents Countywide from dumping any more garbage in Cells 7 and 8a, which could have the capacity to take in about another year's worth of waste.
Vandersall expects to submit data to the EPA showing that the reaction is not spreading, in hopes that the agency will allow the other cells to reopen.
The Countywide manager anticipates the separation area between cells would be at least five feet wide.
In February, the EPA concluded a fire was burning at Countywide due to a reaction involving aluminum waste and water, a mix that inundated residents with foul odors. In March, after negotiations between Countywide and the EPA, Countywide agreed to come up with a fire suppression plan.
The EPA is still evaluating Countywide's latest proposal on dealing with the heat-generating event, Vandersall said, but "we don't have any silver bullets to stop the thing."
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