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Judge Miller steps aside in presiding over landfill case

STEUBENVILLE — Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller has stepped aside as the judge presiding over a case involving the Crossridge Landfill.

Miller signed the entry on Monday.

“To avoid the appearance of impropriety, the court hereby requests the Supreme Court of Ohio assign a visiting judge to this matter,” the entry signed by Miller stated.

The entry further stated all hearings concerning the environmental issues at the landfill located off of Fernwood Road in Cross Creek Township are continued until the Ohio Supreme Court assigns a visiting judge.

No further information was available as to why Miller stepped aside in the case she has presided over for the past several years.

The case involves environmental issues dating back to 2003, including the failure to properly close the solid-waste section of the landfill.

The Jefferson County Health Department and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 28 reported finding leachate being pumped over a hillside into Cross Creek. Leachate is created by water passing through solid waste which had been buried when the landfill was in operation. It is supposed to be taken to a treatment facility.

At the request of the state attorney general’s office, Miller ordered landfill owner Joseph Scugoza to follow a strict schedule for closing the landfill by October 2020.

The attorney general’s office stated Scugoza has repeatedly ignored prior court orders barring him from dumping waste at the site and requiring him to close the landfill.

The attorney general’s office reported Scugoza’s violations of Ohio’s environmental laws have resulted in civil penalties totaling more than $24 million that he has not paid.

Greenway Reclamation of Garden City, N.Y., is proposing to reopen the landfill, make existing environmental remediations in exchange for the ability to accept a large amount of out-of-state waste.

The county health department board on Nov. 19 unanimously voted not to support a proposal to reopen the Crossridge Landfill.

Other entities have joined in opposing the landfill, including Steubenville City Council and the Jefferson County commissioners. The Jefferson County Port Authority had the issue on its agenda for today’s meeting.

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