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Levy, finances discussed By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
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He cares about kids and the fact that kids are homeless is heartbreaking in our community.
Terry Kretz See Family section
Apple fest
Apple butter and babies were some of the big attractions at the Oak Harbor Apple Fest. Top left, Jason Flayler, Boy Scout Troop 316, stirs the cooking apples to butter. Top right, Chad Bolander, Egan Bolander, Roger Minier, Roger Carpenter and fellow scouts pour butter into jars. Bottom left, the final product. Bottom right, Jett Gradel, age 1, Oak Harbor, takes the stage with his mom Nichole for the cutest baby contest. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
EPA approves renewal for Envirosafe By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on September 30 issued a final permit renewal for Envirosafe Services of Ohio, Inc., (ESOI), a hazardous waste facility at 876 Otter Creek Road in Oregon. The facility submits an operating permit renewal request to the state every 10 years. The last time the agency approved a Hazardous Waste Facility Installation and Operation Permit to Envirosafe was on Dec. 29, 2005. The permit expired on Dec. 29, 2015. The facility submitted a request to the Ohio EPA for a renewal on June 30, 2015. The facility is allowed to operate under the terms of the expired permit until the director of the Ohio EPA issues or denies the renewal permit. The only change in the operating permit this time is that Envirosafe is no longer required to secure pre-approval from the Ohio EPA to accept waste, James Lee, media relations manager with the Ohio EPA, told The Press. “Ohio EPA has been working to standardize permits for the hazardous waste facilities across the state,” he said. “In doing this review of other permits, the agency noted other hazardous waste facilities were
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...other hazardous waste facilities were not required to secure pre-approval from the Ohio EPA in order to accept waste.
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With an operating levy on the ballot for the third time this year, the financial condition of the Woodmore School District dominated the discussion at a forum held Tuesday by the school board. Board members scheduled the forum, which drew about 35 people, to listen to the concerns residents may have about the district’s operations. In response to the first question from resident Wayne Sandrock about the impact of the Current Agricultural Use Valuation program on the district’s property tax collections and an audit of the district being conducted by the state, Jaime Pearson, district treasurer, estimated the school system’s share of CAUV-generated tax revenues at about $88,000 this year. Although the district has seen an increase of about 6 percent in its total property valuations, an increase in tax receipts would also reflect any new construction and the collection of delinquent taxes, she said. While growers enrolled in the CAUV program have seen their property tax bills recently double or even triple, school districts don’t realize an automatic growth in tax revenues, Pearson said, noting that some residential property valuations have fallen while CAUV land has risen. The results of a special audit for the year 2015 are expected to be released by the end of this month, she added. Voters have twice this year rejected the renewal of a 5-year operating levy that generates $600,000 annually and expires at the end of the year. The effect of the loss of those revenues on district operations raised questions from residents about spending cuts that would be implemented and how the campaign for renewal is being conducted. Sam Preston, a board member, said the district is already operating at what he considers minimum staffing levels. “Taking another $600,000 out of the
not required to secure pre-approval from the Ohio EPA in order to accept waste. The hazardous waste laws and ESOI’s permit already lay out strict guidelines that ESOI and other similar facilities must follow before accepting waste.” In addition to Envirosafe, commercial facilities in Ohio that are permitted to receive hazardous waste include Vickery Environmental, Ross Incineration Services, and Heritage WTI, said Lee. EPA’s role Although the Ohio EPA is not required to approve every individual waste stream
accepted through an additional review process, the agency “will continue to look at the waste acceptance paperwork and review for compliance.” “It would be ESOI’s responsibility, as the permitted entity, to ensure that the waste it accepts meets its permit and the law. It would remain Ohio EPA’s regulatory role to audit ESOI’s compliance with these requirements,” he said. ESOI treats and stores hazardous waste in containers, tanks, and a containment building. It also disposes hazardous waste in Cell M, its only active hazardous waste landfill, at the southern part of the property. The latest estimate for Cell M capacity is three to five years, depending on the annual receipt volume, according to Robin Wiley, of the Division of Emergency Response and Revitalization in Toledo. Envirosafe is permitted to accept up to 235,000 tons of hazardous waste per year from off-site sources for treatment, storage and disposal in one permitted landfill. There are 124 ground water monitoring wells on site. At any given time, Envirosafe can store 3,200 cubic yards in permitted outdoor container storage areas. It can also treat
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