On the surface, the view from Ashley Stahl鈥檚 home outside of Fostoria in Seneca County might seem serene. Tall hills stretch across the horizon and peek above the miles of flat farmland that span the northern Ohio county.
But, these hills are not made up of dirt. It's a mountainous pile of debris and solid waste. Stahl鈥檚 view is of Sunny Farms Landfill, one of the largest landfills in the state.
Around five years ago, Stahl says a began to pervade the area, and her water started to stain her laundry. Local testing showed slightly higher than average levels of sulfate in the water.
鈥淚t does make it feel like this isn鈥檛 where we belong,鈥� Stahl said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 ask for this life.鈥�
The trash mountain by Stahl鈥檚 home isn鈥檛 just discarded wrappers from her neighbors. It鈥檚 waste from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Ohio imports a lot of trash. In 2022, about disposed here wasn鈥檛 produced by Ohioans. More than 7 million tons of it came in by rail from east coast states. Some state lawmakers are trying to give power over that waste back to the communities that receive it.
Residents worry over safety
The rotten egg odor in Fostoria has since gone away, after the state in 2019.
But fears still linger over air and water quality in the area. Some residents have considered leaving their homes due to the overwhelming odors. Stahl said she鈥檚 still afraid to have her kids use the water in their home.
鈥淚 have mom guilt. You just want your kids to just be kids and not have to worry about being scared of the water,鈥� Stahl said. 鈥淚t just makes it heavy on my heart.鈥�
WIN Waste Innovations acquired Sunny Farms Landfill in 2019. Ben Nutter, community engagement manager at the landfill, said the new management has addressed all safety concerns, and the landfill is in full compliance with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
鈥淲e're a business that has a significant economic impact in Seneca County, and Ohio, and we're operating well within accordance of the law. We're protecting the environment every day 鈥� We should be allowed to operate,鈥� Nutter said in an interview with the Ohio Newsroom last June.
A 鈥榙umping ground鈥� for the East Coast
Sunny Farms Landfill is one of the largest landfills in Ohio, bringing in of trash every day. Around 98% of that waste comes from out-of-state, according to Nutter.
Senator Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, said he feels that鈥檚 wrong.
鈥淚 don't want Ohio to become the dumping ground for New York and the East Coast,鈥� Reineke said.
Reineke believes Ohio charges too little to dispose of trash. Unlike many other states, he said Ohio has a special and cheaper designation for trash from construction sites. He said it鈥檚 鈥渁 deal鈥� to dump in Ohio 鈥� one that makes Ohio鈥檚 small towns vulnerable.
鈥淭he landfills are in rural America,鈥� Reineke said. 鈥淎s flat as Ohio is, now we have mountains of trash, it becomes obvious to constituents and then, obviously, they're concerned about water and their sense of smell.鈥�
The proposed bill
Reineke鈥檚 solution is to give counties the option to tax the intake of construction and demolition debris. wouldn鈥檛 鈥榯ake out the trash鈥� per se, but it could help communities generate money to better oversee local private landfills, like Sunny Farms.
Nutter, with WIN Waste Innovations, said raising these fees aren鈥檛 necessary and will only harm Ohio鈥檚 taxpayers. He said the company already works with local health officials to test the air and water and ensure it鈥檚 safe. Plus, they鈥檝e rolled out new technology to reduce emissions and they're already under increased scrutiny because of past violations.
鈥淲IN Waste Innovations has nothing to hide, and we know we're protective of human health and the environment,鈥� Nutter said.
But, Reineke said the measure is vital in ensuring local governments don鈥檛 feel powerless in holding private landfills accountable.
鈥�It's where these people live. It's our health. It's our future,鈥� Reineke said.
Moving the money
Right now, Ohio law lumps Seneca County with two other counties nearby, Ottawa and Sandusky. All three have to make joint decisions on what to do with their trash revenue. Only a small slice 鈥� around 3% 鈥� of the revenue goes to the local health department for landfill oversight.
But Seneca County is the only one taking in out-of-state trash and bringing in more than 80% of the revenue. That frustrates county commissioner Bill Frankart.
鈥淲e feel that they might not understand the issues that we have with our landfill, and the fees that come in get spread out with the other two counties,鈥� Frankart.
The would allow Seneca, and counties like it that generate of the total solid waste revenue, to make their own decisions on how to spend the trash money.
He hopes it can be used to mitigate the impact on people like Ashley Stahl, who live next to landfills in the state.
鈥淲e want to help our health department to retrieve funds to be able to do more air monitoring, water monitoring, and also maybe have somebody there all the time when they're unloading to see what's coming into our landfill,鈥� Frankart said.
The bill has passed in the Senate, but has stalled in committee in the House. Frankart wants to see it taken up soon, as Sunny Farms Landfill is . The landfill would be able to take in 4,500 more tons of trash a day.
Frankart said the bill is important to protect not just his community, but for small towns across the state. Under current law, he said every Ohio community is potentially vulnerable.
鈥淚t might not be their problem today,鈥� Frankart said. 鈥淏ut tomorrow, it might be.鈥�