Is he a man of his word?
BOLIVAR - The new director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Chris Korleski, has declared that dealing with problems at the Countywide Landfill near Bolivar is his agency’s “No. 1 priority.”
We hope he is a man of his word.
Korleski has set a “firm” deadline of Feb. 21 to make a recommendation to the Stark County Health Board on Countywide’s 2007 operating license.
In recent months, the state EPA has set deadlines for Countywide to take care of the odor problem there, only to let the deadlines pass. The smell was supposed to be taken care of by Dec. 15, but the previous director of the OEPA recommended that the Stark County Health Board delay action for at least another 30 days.
We think residents living in the vicinity of the landfill have a right to be outraged by the inaction of a state agency entrusted with the job of protecting them.
In addition to the smell, there is the worrisome question of whether there is a potentially dangerous fire underneath the landfill. Media reports have suggested that the state EPA has been discussing the possibility of a fire there since last summer.
We fully support the actions of Tuscarawas County commissioners, who have taken the lead in getting problems at Countywide solved. They deserve a lot of credit for their concern for the well-being of their constituents.
Korleski says he shares the concerns of area residents about the landfill, which, in his words, is “significantly malfunctioning,” and a desire to get answers as to what is going on there.
We like what he’s been saying so far. Now we would like to see some action.
