EATON TWP., Ohio — Lorain County neighbors are holding their ground against a proposal to create a landfill for incinerated hazardous waste.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
Tuesday, Ross Environmental Services once again presented a request to the Eaton Township Zoning Commission to rezone part of its property from light industrial to heavy industrial. The change would allow the hazardous and industrial waste management company to dispose of ash from its incinerators in a landfill known as a monofil.
“There’s really no hazardous qualities in the ash after it’s been treated,” said Pat Lawson, the Vice President of Corporate Compliance for Ross. “We have very strict regulations we have to comply with. And the monofil is actually being built above standards that are required by regulations.”
Despite assurances from the company, neighbors have been challenging the notion that the practice would be safe.
“This is what this public hearing is about the health, the safety, and the welfare of the community,” one woman said at the Tuesday Zoning Commission meeting.
Ross operates an incineration business on Giles Road in the township. News 5 spoke with the company when it agreed to dispose of several hundred tons of material from the contaminated derailment site in East Palestine.
READ MORE: Grafton incineration company agrees to take solid waste from East Palestine cleanup
“Now they’re bringing it to our neighborhood up here. And nobody here likes it. It’s not just me, it’s everybody in the township,” said William Ali, whose family has owned property on Route 82 in the Township for several decades.
The company’s request for a zoning change predates the East Palestine train derailment. It argues disposing of its own waste material on its property allows Ross to save costs and ensure its outputs are handled properly.
After several dozen neighbors voiced health and environmental concerns over the company’s initial proposal, the Township voted to reject the rezoning request.
Tuesday’s application includes the same elements but scales down the rezoning request from several hundred acres to 95 acres. The monofil would occupy 23 acres.
“Nothing’s necessarily changed,” one man noted during Tuesday’s public comment period.
Many neighbors share concerns about the toxic chemicals from hazardous waste contaminating the township’s soil, air, and water. Even with precautions in place, some said no one can guarantee safety.
“We have concerns about our health and our child’s health,” one couple said.
Lawson explained the hazardous properties are burned during incineration and the ashes are processed to stabilize any residual material. The material would then be disposed of in the double-lined monofil and covered. The company says any rainwater runoff would be collected and reused in the incineration process.
Some worry the township’s definition of heavy industrial is too vague and could open the doors for other things.
“Heavy industrial allows pretty much anything. You could put nuclear waste there,” resident Elizabeth Rattray told News 5 in March. “There’s an opening the size of a Mack truck in the wording of the zoning resolution as it relates to ‘heavy industrial.’”
Ross Environmental Services said industry and environmental regulations would prevent anything of that magnitude and the company pointed to its 75-year commitment to the community.
“This is our home. Our owners live here, a lot of our employees live here,” Lawson said. “We care about Eaton Township. We’re not going to do anything to jeopardize that or jeopardize the health of anyone.”
Tuesday, the Eaton Township Zoning Commission voted to continue the public hearing so commissioners could have more time to review the request and weigh options.
Ross said the monofil would be important for the company’s future. But opponents are hoping the commissioners deny the request.
“I think they should think about it more and get more information and be more well-informed before they even make that decision,” Ali said.
The hearing will resume on July 12. The Township trustees will have the final authority to grant or deny Ross Environmental’s zoning request.
