More to learn?
PIKE TWP - After the new director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency figures out how to deal with the odor at a Stark County landfill in the short term, he should look into whether his agency is doing all it can do to deal with such problems in the long term.
When EPA Director Chris Korleski toured the Countywide landfill in Pike Township last week, he said that ending the odor that has plagued the area for months is his top priority. Countywide officials have said that the odor stems from a chemical reaction caused by liquid coming into contact with a waste product in the disintegration of aluminum. A pilot who took infrared images of the landfill has told the EPA he believes the problem is an underground fire.
It's interesting that a California EPA official, called to Ohio as a consultant after the fire issue was raised, said that allowing aluminum waste and liquid to come into contact is "not a typical practice." This prompted us to wonder whether there is more that the Ohio EPA can learn from the California EPA about best practices in waste management, and to wonder in more general terms what kinds of information state environmental protection agencies do and should share with each other. It's doubtful that any state has all the answers, but surely the states could learn from each other, for the benefit of all their residents.
