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Township
Profile
Industrial
Excess Landfill
Located
in the northwest corner of the township, approximately ¼
mile south of the center of Uniontown on Cleveland Avenue,
is the Industrial Excess Landfill (IEL) which encompasses
a 30-acre site. The site was originally a sand and gravel
mining operation which was licensed in the late 1960’s
to accept industrial wastes such as cement blocks, drywall,
etc. When it was discovered that the site was being abused
by the dumping of chemical wastes, action was started to discontinue
its use as landfill. The site was proposed for inclusion on
USEPA’s National Priorities list in October of 1984,
and has been the subject of ongoing monitoring and cleanup
plans since that time. |
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In
1989 the USEPA Record of Decision was released for the Uniontown
IEL. That document listed certain criteria that must be met
for a cleanup of the site. Since that time, according to EPA
officials, interim water testing has taken place that shows
the area to be somewhat cleaner due to natural attenuation.
A revised Record of Decision was written in March of 2000
verifying this to the satisfaction of the EPA. |
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The
challenge before us is how to best utilize the IEL site and
the area surrounding the site and whether or not it would
be advisable to allow future development of the property.
Several parcels (17) adjacent to the Landfill were purchased
by, and are currently owned by the Federal Government. However,
the landfill site is still owned by the landfill operator.
The original Record of Decision (ROD) seemed to contemplate
that the State of Ohio would accept the USA Federally acquired
properties and perhaps the site. No future use for these properties
was proposed to the best of Lake Township’s knowledge.
The amended ROD seems to imply that the final proposed remedy
will place specific deed restrictions on the future use of
the site, but these are not specifically defined in the ROD
or Amended ROD and no community input as to such restrictions
has been solicited or received to date. |
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Although
it does not seem practical to consider utilizing the IEL site
for anything other than open space at the present time, the
maintenance and zoning of the area surrounding the site must
be considered. The parcels owned by the Federal Government
are maintained by a private contractor through the Ohio EPA.
That contractor mows the grounds and maintains the methane
venting system. |
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It
is the duty of the township trustees to consider the health,
safety and welfare of the township residents, and therefore
it is incumbent upon them to continue monitoring the site
and to solicit extensive community input as to future use
of the site. |
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Lake
Township’s Community Advisory Group (CAG) was formed
in October of 2000 to assist the Township community in acquiring
information as to how the community would like to see the
IEL reused after a final remedy for the site is chosen by
the USEPA through an amended Record of Decision (ROD). The
CAG is made up of a group of volunteer representatives, all
of whom live within a mile or so of the IEL. The CAG is the
Lake Township Trustees' only official community resource group,
which is composed of Township residents dedicated to reporting
facts rather than speculation, innuendo, or sensationalized
information as some others may report. For more information
on CAG and the Industrial Excess Landfill, please visit their
site at http://www.ltcag.org/. |
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