Fire below Countywide? - Landfill official disputes report of possible underground blaze
The Times-Reporter
PIKE TWP - Is there a fire burning beneath Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility?
The Akron Beacon Journal reported Wednesday that a private citizen flying an airplane equipped with infrared cameras photographed the East Sparta landfill and found evidence of a fire burning and growing underneath a 30-acre tarp.
Mike Settles, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman, would only confirm Wednesday that unusually high heat is being generated in a problem cell that was the source of odors in 2006.
Settles said his agency has not seen the infrared photographs and still was in negotiations with the pilot, Larry Davis of Kent. Settles said Davis wants “some sort of compensation.”
He said the pilot originally contacted the OEPA in August and again after a late December flight to report that the white heat in the infrared-image had grown in intensity.
“He saw something much worse than what he photographed in August,” Settles said. “That alarmed us and prompted us to call an expert in to determine whether or not there is a fire.”
The California-based expert, Todd Thalhamer, told the Beacon Journal he believed the OEPA and landfill have spent too much time trying to curtail the odors and not enough time looking at the underground problems.
Thalhamer is expected to visit Countywide next week.
Aluminum dross – a waste product – was taken into the landfill during the ’90s and apparently reacted with leachate, ultimately creating the odors which plagued residents in Bolivar, Wilkshire Hills and surrounding areas for much of 2006.
It also created heat and is believed to be the cause of a 20-to-40-foot depression in the waste cell that holds the aluminum.
Settles said additional air and leachate monitoring has not indicated an underground fire. Settles said that even if the expert determines the landfill to have an underground fire, the OEPA may not change its approach to the situation.
“If nothing else, we called in an expert to validate whether or not there is a fire in the landfill,” he said.
“That will help us and the community understand better as to what exactly is going on in the landfill.”
Tim Vandersall, Countywide’s general manager, told The Times-Reporter there is no fire.
Vandersall said the cell is “hotter than normal” as a result of a chemical reaction.
He said the company has conducted 100 drillings into the reactive zone to create a gas extraction system and “none of those drillings indicated a presence of a fire.”
The extraction system was installed to help burn off the gases, which were pinpointed as the cause the odor.
Vandersall said the liner at the bottom of the cell is secure. He said the area of the cell producing the heat is well above the liner.
Tuscarawas County Commissioner Kerry Metzger blames the OEPA for problems at the landfill.
“It’s their permit process that permitted Countywide to re-circulate its leachate,” Metzger said. “That probably sped up and added to the reaction that caused the odors in the first place. I think it’s time to shut them down and address the issues.”
Tuscarawas County Commissioner Jim Seldenright said he’s still not sure what to believe.
“If you listen to the EPA’s old data set, it’s just heat from the chemical reaction that caused the odors,” he said. “I haven’t seen this new data yet, but apparently they have proof that it’s on fire. Why weren’t they looking into the issue before?”
Commissioner Chris Abbuhl said he believes the Stark County Health Department should act on its own accord. The department, he noted, is permitted to shut the landfill down.
“I know Stark’s health commissioner has said they would follow through on the EPA’s recommendation for whether or not to issue Countywide an operating permit in 2007,” Abbuhl said. “They can act on their own. We know there are problems and everyone agrees there is something going on at Countywide. Why not halt operations until the problems are fixed?”
