BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
UNION TOWNSHIP -- The company suing the Village of Morrow for the right to open a new landfill is seeking state permission to build one next to its present facility.
Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) is asking the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Natural Areas and Preserves for permission to reduce from 1,000 feet to 300 the setback area between its Bigfoot Run operation and the Hall's Creek Nature Preserve east of the landfill.
Rob Dolder, BFI district vice president, said Wednesday the new facility the company would then build on the land would be separate from Bigfoot Run, even though the two sites are adjacent. He said he did not know when ODNR would rule on the company's request.
"It is something we are considering," said John Kopec, public information officer with the division's office in Columbus.
Mr. Dolder said the proposal calls for BFI to donate to Little Miami Inc. (LMI) of Columbia Tusculum some 27 acres between Bigfoot Run and the Little Miami River, property he said BFI would not have used anyway. LMI would eventually give the land to ODNR.
"We thought, in the interest of preserving the Little Miami River, the proper thing would be to donate it," Mr. Dolder said. In exchange, Mr. Dolder said ODNR would then allow the reduction. LMI executive director Eric Partee said reducing the setback benefits the river because new trees would be planted on the remaining 300 feet, compared to what he calls a "barren" 1,000 feet.
"You'd have a 300-feet wide buffer of forest land," Mr. Partee said."It's certainly a lot better than having the barren land." Mr. Partee also said the proposal also calls for a $660,000 contribution by BFI to LMI and ODNR programs. They include: $100,000 this year for land acquisition, plus another $450,000 over the next 10 years for land acquisition; $50,000 to ODNR's Stream Quality Monitoring program; $50,000 to LMI's Environmental Education Fund, which pays for grants given to local schools; and $10,000 to LMI's general fund.
"We have estimated we will be able to acquire permanent protection for up to 38 miles of riverfront forest land," Mr. Partee said. Mr. Partee said the agreement also calls for BFI to abandon its plans to build a landfill at the site of the old Alpine ski resort at the corner of Morrow-Blackhawk and Morrow-Woodville roads on the village's southeast side.
One local group, the Morrow Environmental Preservation Association (MEPA), doesn't think the deal legally can be done. Warren Reed, president of MEPA's board of directors, said state law prohibits ODNR from making the change BFI wants.
"It's a form of bribery as far as I'm concerned," Mr. Reed said. "Giving the land is not a problem . . . We just don't want that landfill, period."
Mr. Dolder disagrees.
"It's not state law, it's a regulation," he said. "All we've done is ask ODNR to reduce the setback."
BFI has been studying possible landfill sites since 1994. Mr. Dolder said last month the new Morrow site was the only suitable one in a 15-county area. He said the site was chosen because it was available and because it had been for sale for nearly 20 years.
Mr. Dolder said BFI operates over 100 landfills in North America, including Bigfoot Run near Morrow. He said last month Bigfoot Run will reach capacity in May 1999.
