BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP -- Bill Brausch's dream house might soon be a landfill operator's worst nightmare.
Mr. Brausch's yard off of Torvillo Road borders the Big Foot Run landfill property in southern Warren County, about 10 miles southeast of Lebanon. For years, he planned to build and move into his dream house -- a $250,000, two-story log cabin -- after the waste site closed and was capped in May 1999.
But now Browning-Ferris Industries of Ohio Inc. (BFI) is lobbying for approval to create "Bigfoot II," another landfill, adjacent to the current site and hundreds of feet closer to Mr. Brausch's log cabin.
"It will be very, very close. Too close," said Mr. Brausch, 53, who has lived for 20 years in a modest ranch-style home that is also on his Torvillo Road property.
The landfill would also be too close for Ohio law, according to state environmental officials. No landfill may be created within 1,000 feet of a home, they say. If BFI is allowed to build Bigfoot II, the new landfill will be about 500 feet away from Mr. Brausch's dream house.
Mr. Brausch will join more than 100 other Bigfoot II opponents when the Warren County Zoning Commission meets tonight in Lebanon. The session is a continuation of a hearing last week.
BFI officials declined to comment specifically about Mr. Brausch and his log home.
Rob Dolder, BFI's district vice president, wants the zoning board to endorse Bigfoot II and recommend the project to Warren County commissioners. In turn, commissioners would review the project and issue their recommendation to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which would decide whether it is built.
"I hope the zoning board looks for what is best for all of Warren County and not just 16 residents along Torvillo Road," Mr. Dolder said.
He has consistently warned Warren County residents that if BFI is not allowed to build another landfill -- it now operates the only one in the county -- then residents will likely have only one trash hauler for 90 percent of the county. That may mean paying substantially more for trash removal.
Mr. Brausch has already told zoning officials his story.
"Ever since I can remember . . . my dream house has always been a log cabin. With BFI having to cap the landfill in May, this will be a perfect setting," he said.
Mr. Brausch's view from the front of his rustic cabin includes a clear view of the top portion of the Bigfoot Run landfill rising high above a row of trees in the distance.
The constant sound of garbage truck engines straining to climb the mountain of waste can clearly be heard, as can the beeping of the truck's back-up alarms.
Birds circle above the site, eager for the fresh loads of waste. An autumn breeze brings either the smell of woods and grassy fields or a faint odor of rotting garbage.
Mr. Brausch had planned for those unappealing parts of his dream to disappear when Bigfoot Run landfill closed.
He will repeat his tale again in two months when Warren County commissioners hold a public meeting before addressing BFI's proposal. Today's 7:30 p.m. meeting has been moved to courtroom No. 3 in Warren County Common Pleas Court, off of Justice Drive in Lebanon. More than 100 residents are expected tonight.
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