Port will amend bond agreement for landfill
By TOM GIAMBRONI, Staff WriterEAST LIVERPOOL - The Columbiana County Port Authority agreed to amend a 2004 agreement that allowed industrial bonds to be issued for a company to start a controversial garbage dump in neighboring Jefferson County.
The port authority board at last week's meeting voted to amend the bond agreement with Apex Environmental, which operates a 117-acre solid waste landfill outside of Amsterdam.
Five years ago, the port authority agreed to serve as the government agency through which Apex could up borrow up to $45 million in solid waste revenue bonds to fund acquisition of 1,700 acres and development of the landfill.
The port authority is not on the hook for the money: It simply served as the government agency/middleman through which Apex would obtain the low-interest financing. The port authority was asked to do so by the Jefferson-Belmont Counties Joint Solid Waste District.
Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Tracy Drake said the company asked them to agree to the changes, which will provide Apex with "flexibility" in accessing more of the bond money.
"We're doing this as a courtesy to them," Drake told the board.
The landfill has become a focus of criticism from nearby residents and other opponents because of the odors they say come from the facility. Apex is in the process of seeking state permission to nearly double the amount of garbage it can dispose of, from 5,200 tons per day to 10,000 tons. Apex recently agreed to pay a $24,781 for various operating violations.
In other action, the port authority:
- Extended purchase/option agreements until June 30 for 13 of the 17 properties that make up 522 acres for the Baard Energy Project. The option payments totaled $182,500, which were paid by Baard.
The port authority is to acquire the property for Baard's proposed coal-to-liquid fuels plant, but the project has been delayed because of the company's difficulty in lining up private investors.
The purchase/option extension for the other four property owners expires in September.
- Awarded two contracts for work on the overhead crane system at its riverfront industrial park in Wellsville. Hohl Industrial Construction was hired for $650,300 for the overhead crane, while the Precision Steel Co. was awarded a $398,242 contract to provide the stationary barge as part of the project. Both contracts are being funded with $5.7 million in federal stimulus money awarded the port authority.
The stationary barge is to hold the material that is brought in by barge and unloaded before transferred to trucks or rail car.
