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Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Green High senior goes extra mile for those who walk and jog the park trails
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
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Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
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For your Saturday entertainment …
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Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (68) Democrats Secure 60 Votes for Cloture
See Jane Style:
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Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Republic, Ohio EPA exchange letters but no meetings are scheduled
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008
Republic Services Inc. and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency have been embroiled in a simmering war of words.
Letters between the heads of Republic and the Ohio EPA recently were posted on the state agency's Web site.
On Feb. 26, Jim O'Connor, chairman and chief executive officer of the Florida-based firm, sent a strongly worded letter to Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski concerning the underground fires and odors at the Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility in southern Stark County.
In that four-page letter, O'Connor took the EPA to task. He expressed unhappiness over a Feb. 21 notice of violation that was filed against the company.
That violation accused Countywide of allowing waste and leachate to escape from the lined cell on the southern slope of the 258-acre landfill in Pike Township. The agency said it appears that the synthetic liner has been ''adversely affected.''
O'Connor said the EPA's
statements on the notice lacked ''technical justification and are extremely damaging to the Countywide.''
He expressed frustration with the EPA's lack of cooperation and said the agency has refused to meet with the company's experts.
He asked why the EPA has not yet responded to the company's proposed fire suppression plan that was submitted last May.
In a Feb. 29 letter, O'Connor suggested that he, Korleski, the U.S. EPA and Stark County Health Commissioner Bill Franks meet to determine the best way to proceed to solve Countywide's problems.
That triggered a five-page letter from Korleski in which he voiced frustration that the Countywide fires and odors have not been eliminated.
The two sides have met but there are big differences between the company and the agency on what's happening within the landfill and what should be done, he said in a March 14 letter.
The EPA has requested additional landfill data from the company and the agency has ordered certain interim steps be taken to begin to solve the problem, he said.
A future meeting might be productive, he said.
EPA spokesman Mike Settles said Tuesday that no meetings have been scheduled.
The exchange of letters has been posted on the EPA's Countywide Web site: http://www.epa.state.oh.us/pic/countywide.html.
In a March 21 posting, Korleski also said he is reluctant to award community grants for projects in southern Stark and northern Tuscarawas counties until the conditions stabilize at the landfill.
In 2007, the company paid a $1 million fine, of which $250,000 went into a special Community Benefit Fund. A total of 36 proposals were submitted by community groups.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Republic Services Inc. and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency have been embroiled in a simmering war of words.
Get the full article here.
