BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- It's not a sequel to a spooky movie, but landfill neighbors worry that Big Foot Run II will be as big a nightmare as the first.
Officials with Browning-Ferris Industries of Ohio Inc. have resurrected the fight to build another landfill next to the one called Big Foot Run in Warren County's Union Township.
BFI refiled a request for a zoning change on 132 acres east of the landfill, which is due to close in May. It is asking to use 59 acres of the new site to bury solid waste.
The Warren County Planning Commission voted 6-4 to deny the request in July after BFI refused the commission's request to add another 500 feet between the proposed landfill and residential property lines.
"On any given day, the odors are so obnoxious that you can't even open your windows," said Sam Hummell.
Mr. Hummell, who lives a few thousand feet from the landfill, said he has collected 1,000 signatures for a petition against Big Foot's expansion.
BFI's new request, which was filed Friday, is essentially the same as the one that was denied, except that the company added a computer image showing the projected height of the landfill.
"The visual impact is not nearly as severe as proposed by the opposition," said Rob Dolder, BFI's district manager.
If BFI gives the planning commission what it wants by adding more space between the landfill and property lines, it would reduce the expected 10-year life of the landfill, Mr. Dolder said.
Though it is not pleasant, garbage has to be stored somewhere, he said.
"I don't generate the trash. The public has to have someplace to put their trash," he said.
