The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has granted the final permit required to open a new landfill in Columbiana County. 

The permit, issued Wednesday, allows Vogel Holdings and West Point Renewables to convert an existing transfer station in Madison Township into a solid waste landfill.

"I am surprised but not surprised," said Jamie Nentwick with Madison Township Citizens Against the Dump. "This part of the county seems to be capitalizing on landfills. So, we try to fight as hard as we can we do what we know we can do."

The nearly 55-acre landfill is allowed to take up to 4-thousand tons of waste per day according to the EPA.

Some location restrictions include staying 1,000 feet from natural areas, 1,000 feet from homes 200 feet from a property line.

Technical requirements involve liner and cap components, leachate and gas collection, and groundwater protection.  

However, residents including Nentwick stated the landfill is not considered 'necessary' and the health department does not oversee landfills in the county.

"The EPA has stated many times they don't have the manpower to be watching over everything at all times," Nentwick added. "I wish there was more oversight in this case so that nothing slips underneath."

"It's important to keep the residents and the properties they've worked for the way they want it, without a company coming in and changing everything," Nentwick added.

Despite opposition from neighbors, the EPA said it does not evaluate or consider local zoning, the popularity of the site, safety issues, noise levels, impacts on property values, traffic, and out-of-state waste.  

"Property values are going to plummet," said Jim Newburn of S.R. 45. "They can say they're going to control the run off but they got water dripping out of the trucks going up and down the road. It's going to affect your water supply. It's going to affect everything."

Jim Newburn used to live near the Apex Landfill in Jefferson County, one of the reasons he moved.

"And it stunk. Bad," Newburn said. "There were trucks coming up and down the road, water dripping off of them all the time with sludge from the sewage."

A public hearing was hosted by the EPA in April of 2024, with the community speaking out against the landfill.  

Madison Township Citizens Against the Dump, known as MADCad will now file an appeal with the EPA and are turning to the county commissioners to hire an environmental oversight committee to continue the fight.

"I'm never defeated," Nentwick added. "There's always optimism. When companies know we're watching and we are going to report everything that we are supposed to report, they'll do better. I'm going to make sure residents know what violations to look out for and how to report it."

The landfill along White Road just west of SR 11 and south of SR 45 has an estimated life expectancy of 5.9 to 15.7 years.