Smell test

The Akron Beacon Journal

PIKE TWP - In March, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency ordered Republic Waste Services to extinguish underground fires fueled by a chemical reaction at its landfill in southern Stark County. The agency has in mind halting the foul odors emanating from the Countywide landfill for the past year, harming the quality of life for neighboring communities. The company presented a plan in May that called for sealing the smoldering area with a cap of clay, the fires ending in three years to six years.

As Bob Downing, a Beacon Journal staff writer, reported, the agency and the company since have engaged in a dialogue examining courses of action. Republic Waste Services has raised questions about the feasibility of injecting fire-suppressant compounds into the affected section of the landfill. A third option involves excavating the troubled area, covering 88 acres of garbage. Both the injection and excavation are more expensive than installing the cap.

In all of this noodling about what to do, the state EPA shouldn't lose sight of its first obligation to the residents affected by the miserable and persistent smell. The agency has followed the right track in looking to independent experts for guidance.

If nothing else, the company has eroded deeply the benefit of the doubt, responding too slowly and inadequately to the concerns of neighbors. Worries about the landfill have heightened in recent weeks in view of reports about slippage problems near Interstate 77. If the risk of trouble is small (for now), the episode should serve to reinforce a sense of responsibility among state EPA officials.

Public confidence in the landfill has slipped substantially. The agency will help neighbors and the company by running Republic Waste Services through a vigorous examination of what to do, reassuring residents that the state EPA places its highest priority on the public interest.

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