TIFFIN — More trouble for the embattled Sunny Farms Landfill: The state of Ohio has cited it for missing its first key deadline to reduce odors per an agreement Tunnel Hill Partners — the company operating the site — signed on Jan. 31.
Frustrated by the lack of cooperation, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said it has turned the case over to the Ohio attorney general’s office for prosecution.
According to an Ohio EPA news release issued Tuesday, Sunny Farms failed to meet its obligation for “several definitive actions to reduce odors coming from the landfill, with deadlines for each action.”
The first key deadline required Sunny Farms to make sure that portions of the landfill not currently accepting waste were covered by three feet of soil by Feb. 28.
“As a result of an inspection on March 1 to determine compliance with the orders, Ohio EPA inspectors found many areas where the facility failed to provide adequate soil cover, in violation of the order,” the agency said, adding that the latest violation requires immediate compliance.
The agency’s new director, Laurie Stevenson, said Sunny Farms has demonstrated it is “not taking seriously their responsibility to reduce odors.”
“This referral [to the state attorney general’s office] does not release the facility from their obligations to comply with the Jan. 31 orders,” according to the Ohio EPA’s statement. “Ohio EPA staff will continue to regularly inspect the landfill to ensure it is complying with the Jan. 31 orders and taking the steps outlined in the orders to improve operations and reduce odors.”
VIDEO: Fostoria residents discuss Sunny Farms Landfill
In a statement released Tuesday night through Gene Monteith, vice president and director of Columbus-based Paul Werth Associates, Tunnel Hill Partners said it has been “working diligently to meet the aggressive time frames which we had agreed to with [the] Ohio EPA.”
“We covered and placed a substantial volume of additional clay soils throughout the over 13-acre area on many days in February. We regret that a small portion of supplemental cover was necessary on the East Slope, which had been inaccessible due to rain and freeze/thaw conditions. We were able to check depth of the cover on the East Slope on March 1 and completed recovering it on March 3. We understand that Ohio EPA will be back this week to confirm," according to the statement.
The violation comes less than a week after the Seneca County General Health District put the company on notice that its operating permit for the landfill will not be renewed.
The health district board’s vote was unanimous, prompting a standing ovation from dozens of people.
VIDEO: Sunny Farms Landfill license renewal denied
Matthew Neely, an executive of the firm that owns Sunny Farms Landfill, Tunnel Hill Partners, said after that meeting he was disappointed by the board’s decision. He said improvements to the facility will “be very readily apparent over the coming weeks and months.”
Mr. Monteith followed that meeting up with a statement in which he said the company believes the health district’s decision is “contrary to Ohio law and doesn’t reflect the improvements we’ve made at Sunny Farms to reduce [hydrogen sulfide] levels and improve our overall performance.”
“We intend to appeal the decision,” the company stated. “While that appeal is pending, we will continue with our ongoing efforts to enhance our operations and meet our commitments. We intend to be here for the long term and we want to be a good neighbor and good partner to this community.”
The company was derided at a public meeting in Tiffin in mid-February, when a crowd of more than 500 people angered by odors emanating from the landfill for years sometimes jeered and shouted while generally imploring regulators to do more.
John Lamanna, chief executive officer of Tunnel Hill Partners, which is based in Stamford, Conn., opened that session by promising a better-run landfill.
“On behalf of the company, I would like to apologize for any temporary inconveniences you have had,” Mr. Lamanna said back then.
John Pasquarette, who manages the Ohio EPA’s materials and waste management division, told the audience at that meeting that the “odors are confirmed and are unacceptable.” He and other agency officials said Sunny Farms has been a source of foul odors for years but especially since 2015. Complaints have intensified since October, officials said.
The landfill is four miles south of Fostoria. It is one of several waste-management businesses Tunnel Hill owns in Ohio and the Northeast.
Sunny Farms gets most of its waste brought in by rail, and much of that comes from other states.
A 510-acre site, it is allowed to accept up to 7,500 tons a day.
The company said on its website that Sunny Farms is directly rail-served by the CSX railroad and is capable of processing more than 65 rail cars a day. Up to 100 tons of waste is unloaded by each rail car, often in 15 minutes or less, the website states.
First Published March 6, 2019, 12:27 a.m.
