Logan again says no to joint waste district

Logan City Council rejected a resolution supporting the new Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District plan by a vote of 4-3 Tuesday night.

The Solid Waste District is in danger of having the Ohio EPA step in and write a plan for the two-county district if the latest solid-waste plan isn't approved by the appropriate government entities. The district has failed to win sufficient approval twice before.

In order for any plan to pass, the measure needs the support of the two biggest cities in each county (Athens and Logan) and support from both boards of county commissioners, as well as from political subdivisions representing at least 60 percent of the population in each county.

Athens County officials have warned that a plan drawn up by the state EPA has the potential to be much more expensive than any of the three proposals put forth so far. The two previous proposals were also rejected by Logan City Council.

This third rejection would act as essentially a veto of the plan unless somehow the Logan City Council reconsiders its decision by the Feb. 22 state EPA deadline. So far, both county boards of commissioners and Athens City Council have approved the proposed plan.

Last week's Logan City Council meeting was attended by numerous Athens County politicians urging passage of the plan, including Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl, who sits on the district policy committee.

Two Athens County commissioners, Lenny Eliason and Mark Sullivan, have said that if the Hocking governmental entities reject the plan again, Athens County will consider disbanding the joint district in favor of Athens County going it alone with its own solid waste management operation.

"I think if Logan votes it down again, that we will probably seek a legal way to dissolve the district," Sullivan said in November. "The two times it's come up for vote, over 90 percent of our political subdivision residents have supported the plan."

He said that the district is under a mandate to divert 25 percent of its solid waste from the landfill.

Meanwhile, Athens County Commissioner Larry Payne has previously expressed concerns about the cost of the state EPA writing a plan. "It definitely would be in everybody's best interest, Athens County and Hocking County, if the plan passes," he said.

Payne, however, said he believes that under a state-written plan, people should have a choice whether to recycle, something that the plan mandates for Athens County.

"The main thing is that the individual should have the right to make a choice, have the freedom to decide what they want to do," he said. "To me we should be trying to get as many people as possible to (choose) to recycle, not put in conditions that could restrict that."

None of the commissioners was able to provide comment by press time Wednesday.