Randolph County Landfill Gets Green Light
Randolph Farms Landfill, which disposes of much of the trash in East Central Indiana, has been granted permission by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a major expansion.
The permit allows Randolph Farms — owned by the Balkema family of Kalamazoo, Mich. — to add 41.4 acres for landfilling north of the existing 113.7-acre landfill.
The expansion-permit decision disappointed John Zakelj, a Randolph Eastern middle school science and technology teacher.
“IDEM didn’t explain or even directly address my concerns at all,” he said. “They didn’t seem to address my concern at all that well over 30 percent of the trash is coming from out of state. Randolph County contributes six to seven percent of the annual (disposal) tonnage, while Miami County, Ohio, is contributing over 30 percent.”
Johno did not like the response given by IDEM in the process:
“In addition, the landfill will be monitored for a 30-year period after its closure,” IDEM responded. “In the event that contamination is noted in the ground water monitoring system, the regulations require that the landfill take corrective measures and remediate the problem.”
Zakelj said: “My response to that is, then what? Thirty years after the landfill closes, I assume there will still be people living here who need clean water at that time. What are we going to be doing to them?”
In September of 2004, the local board of zoning appeals approved a special exception to allow the landfill to expand by 96.5 acres.
Originally, the landfill had asked the BZA to approve an expansion of 174 acres, but that was reduced to 96.5 acres after heavy opposition from residents, who had asked the BZA to keep the landfill “on a short leash.”
