Decision on controversial Eaton Twp. ash monofill could be made Oct. 4 (UPDATED)

This story has been updated to reflect a correction: Elizabeth Rattray said her "intelligence and integrity" had been questioned, not her "intelligence and intellect." EATON TWP. — A decision by the Board of Trustees on Ross Environmental Services' controversial request to rezone more than 122 acres of its Giles Road property so it can bury waste ash from its neighboring incinerator could be made as early as Oct. 4. Trustees Jason Monschein and Steve Franks heard impassioned pleas by opponents and proponents of the plan during the second of two public hearings on the matter on Monday. Trustee Matt Hignett was not present for the meeting. The decision rests with trustees on whether to allow Ross its rezoning request, and one of their attorneys said the decision must be made within 20 days of the closing of the public hearing period. The Oct. 4 meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Eaton Township Hall, 12043 Avon Belden Road. Ross asked permission to rezone 122.6 acres of its property in May, two months after a request to rezone more than 200 acres was denied. The Lorain County Planning Commission approved Ross' initial request, though the township zoning commission voted 3-2 on July 12 to accept a modified plan: Zoning officials recommended rezoning 65 acres of Ross land from light industrial to heavy industrial. Ross said the monofill won't take up even that much land. The company plans to bury waste ash from its incinerator, mixed with inert materials like limestone or concrete, 10 to 17 feet deep between layers of plastic sheeting. The monofill — a name for a single-product landfill — will be no more than 50 feet tall. Evergreen trees will block the view of the monofill and the company has promised to protect and test it to make sure rain and groundwater don't get in or out. Eaton Township residents upset with the plan said they have concerns about the toxic nature of the products being burned to ash, as well as groundwater and air pollution. They have asked zoning officials and trustees multiple times to axe the proposal. Opponents thought they had a silver bullet in the form of a 1970s-era court decision that forbade Ross from dumping on its property. What they didn't have was law degrees or legal counsel, an attorney for Ross said Monday. That case "is 100 percent irrelevant to these proceedings," attorney Matthew Nakon, president and CEO of the Avon-based law firm Wickens Herzer Panza told trustees. "There are also a lot of non-lawyers in this room who think they have law degrees who want to interpret a case from 50 years ago," Nakon said. Attorney Al Schrader, who was hired by the board of trustees to advise them, agreed. The original 1971 court case was very limited in scope, "the legal issues were totally different," zoning has changed over the last 50 years, and the legal description in the opinion described 87 acres of Ross property that aren't the same 87 acres being talked about now. "It's different land," Schrader said, so "the case itself would not apply to this particular property because it's a different set of acres. That doesn't bind the trustees one way or another, and if people feel differently, they certainly can hire an attorney, go into court and say: 'This case does apply.'" Ross also had a few more supporters in the audience Monday night. Craig Reed, owner of Reed's Salvage, said he supports Ross Environmental. It would be "a tragedy to see the Rosses not be able to do what they want," Reed said. "They help our township, they help our county." Ross and Reed are "not environmental terrorists," he said. "They're out to do the right thing for everybody. I'm out to do the right thing for everybody." Opponents of the zoning request "knew what they were getting into when they moved here" after Ross had been in town for years, Reed said. Elizabeth Rattray, one of the most vocal opponents of the plan, said Ross and the Ohio EPA both know that the ash generated by the Giles Road incinerator is hazardous, potentially causes cancer and that she and the other opponents have presented "meticulous and fact-based" research to zoning officials and trustees. Her intelligence and integrity have been questioned and insulted by Ross and its supporters, she said. Along with a lack of a clear map of the property, the entire process of Ross' request has been illegal, former township trustee Donna Hicks alleged. It's all a "show of arrogance, a show of ignorance and a general disdain for township residents. Your constituents," she told Monschein and Franks. Other residents who oppose the plan said they are in a "David and Goliath" scenario where they don't have the money to fight Ross, or they see "no benefit" to the changes the company wants to make to its property. "Why even risk it?" an Eaton Township resident who gave his name as Christopher asked the trustees. Pat Lawson, vice president for corporate compliance and risk management with Ross Environmental Services, said her company and coworkers have been accused of bribery and corruption, subjected to threats and bullying, and had their intelligence and integrity insulted. "There was fear for us," she said. "All these things are unjustified ... Ross has been a good citizen in this township for 75 years. We're going to continue to try to do the right thing." The claim that Thursday's (Sept. 7) public hearing wasn't legal because of an error in a newspaper ad is untrue, according to Schrader and Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Greg Peltz, who also is advising the trustees. It was a simple typographical error that "no court ... is gonna throw out," Schrader said. Supporters of the fight against the monofill have started an online GiveSendGo campaign, "Prevent Hazardous Waste Landfill in Eaton," to raise money to hire legal counsel and file a petition for a referendum assuming the board of trustees sides with Ross. The website is www.givesendgo.com/StopEastPalestineWaste. The trustees have given no indication what they will do, despite some opponents of Ross' plan claiming trustees had been bribed or coerced by the company to vote in its favor. "If you put a gun to my head I couldn't tell ya how the trustees are gonna vote on this," Schrader said. "I don't know. They don't know yet probably because they're listening to what people have to say and they have to listen to both sides and they have to make a decision." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.