Committee approves amendment and advances bill to let counties leave joint solid-waste districts and boost local landfill oversight funding

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on March 25, 2025, accepted an amendment and favorably reported amended Senate Bill 147 (AM 136030353-1) to the Rules & Reference Committee by roll call (tally 7-0). The amendment changes how the division of assets is handled when a county withdraws from a joint solid-waste management district and makes technical edits.

Senate Bill 147 was the subject of extensive proponent testimony from Seneca County elected officials, local health officials and residents who said the Wind Waste landfill’s growth has harmed Fostoria-area quality of life and strained local regulatory resources. Commissioner William Frankert (Seneca County Board of Commissioners) described a video he showed the committee depicting the landfill’s scale, saying the site is “about 5 minute bicycle ride from Fostoria,” and that many rail cars full of C&D (construction and demolition) debris sit near residential areas while awaiting processing.

Robert Podak, vice president of the Seneca County Board of Health and a Fostoria city councilman, told the committee the Seneca County General Health District faces “daunting challenges” overseeing nearly 2,000,000 tons of waste accepted at the landfill in 2024 and that most of that tonnage is shipped in from out-of-state. Podak said the bill would authorize permissive fees on the disposal of construction and demolition debris — a $1 to $2 per-ton fee on out-of-state C&D was discussed in testimony —and that those…