Downing said the hole was plugged. WMX is awaiting determination by the Ohio EPA on how to protect the groundwater below the site! We are considering everything from digging up all the trash and going down and fixing it to monitoring what is there," he said.
Will WMX spend that much money instead of using its political influence to get a cheap decision from Ohio EPA? Even if the leaks are fixed, there will be more leaks and Dayton's invaluable water supply will always be under attack by the pollutants from the landfill.
But the leaks are not the only problem at Dayton's Stony Hollow Landfill. The longtime problem of putrid smells and noisy, dangerous trucks rampaging through populated African-American neighborhoods continues to constantly aggravate the local Dayton citizens. Even with half of the bribery money going to the Black community for economic development, it does not solve these problems. So now Waste Management wants to begin some more citizen-disrupting daily blasting (another danger of springing leaks and opening up danger to the aquifer). They are also seeking to build a $700,000 road to get their trucks off neighborhood streets. The Dayton city council members question that such a big expenditure will mean that WMX will want to keep the landfill operating longer by building a steeper higher landmark Dayton mountain. (The landfill already stands at the highest point in Dayton in clear view of the main interstate expressway!) Council member and environmental lawyer Mary Wiseman says There is concern that if we modify where the road goes, that they will use that as an argument for expanding its space, and that means it is going to be in operation longer and that is not what we want." (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 7/14/98) WMX never got the size landfill it wanted as Ohio EPA and then the Federal Court reduced its size.
Dayton citizens were stiffed by the landfill. In fact, they were so upset that the citizens passed a city charter amendment requiring a citizen vote before any new landfill is approved. The answer to all these problems is to close the landfill and build one away from city residents and the aquifer. Actually WMX's Downing suggested that option in passing. As long as society generates so much trash, there is little more they can do to keep citizens happy, said Downing. "There is nothing we know of, short of shutting down," he said. Right on, Mr..... Downing! Reducing garbage will help in the long run. But in the short run Downing's company can close their operation down and move their racist operation out of the Afircan-American community to a less populated and less environmentally dangerous area. Since the landfill is built in separate cells, WMX could move without great hardship, except for some profit loss. Closing the landfill hopefully will be in their self-interest if the stopWMX campaign is successful enough in stopping WMX. Help us out by doing something to stop WMX!
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