Thrusday, January 14, 1999
BFI sues Warren Co. over landfill
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — The owners of Warren County's only operating landfill are suing county commissioners, who denied them rezoning to expand their waste site.
The lawsuit filed by Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. (BFI) and Richard Clarke, both owners of the Bigfoot landfill in Union Township, claims commissioners denied the landowners the constitutional right to make a living.
Last month, Warren County commissioners voted 3-0 to reject BFI's plan to expand the waste disposal company's Bigfoot Run landfill, known as the Bigfoot II site.
Commissioner Larry Crisenbery, president of the board of commissioners, declined to comment on the lawsuit, filed Dec. 31 in Warren County Common Pleas Court, saying it is the practice of county officials not to comment on pending litigation.
Rob Dolder, district vice president of BFI, said the lawsuit “keeps our options open” at the proposed Bigfoot II site even though the waste dispos al company is aggressively pursuing another site in nearby Morrow.
“Our main thrust right now is in Morrow,” Mr. Dolder said of the 473-acre lot at the site of the old Alpine Ski Resort, targeted for BFI's next Warren County landfill.
This week, Morrow Village Council voted 5-1 to pass on a rezoning request for the ski resort property to the village planning commission.
The vote differed from the village council's rejection of the same zoning application in 1997, when BFI first sought to create a landfill in Morrow.
That outright rejection by the council, which adopted an ordinance barring landfills in the village, led to a lawsuit filed by BFI against Morrow officials.
The ordinance was later rejected in a partial decision rendered in 1998 by Judge P. Daniel Fedders of Warren County Common Pleas Court. The village cannot appeal Judge Fedders' rejection of its zoning ordinance yet, because he has yet to rule on other issues surrounding it.
Judge Fedders declined to comment on the Morrow case, or on the pending BFI lawsuit against the county commissioners, which he will also preside over.
He did say, however, that such lawsuits are not uncom mon but are often lengthy in their resolution.
County commissioners have until Jan. 27 to file a reply to BFI's lawsuit.
BFI officials have contended the county needs to have an operating landfill to provide residents with competitive trash hauling without higher disposal fees.
The Bigfoot Run landfill is scheduled to reach capacity and close in May.
Opponents of the Bigfoot Run landfill expansion and the proposed Morrow site say the increase in trash hauling fees would be a small price to pay to avoid water, ground and air pollution they fear another landfill would bring.
Warren Reed, president of the Morrow Environmental Preservation Association, said he wasn't surprised by BFI's move to the courts after being denied rezoning.
“They obviously think they can win this in court, but I don't think going to court will bring any different outcome,” Mr. Reed said.
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