LaCROFT - Just days after the Columbiana County Commissioners backed the health district's imitative of locally monitoring area landfills, the Liverpool Township trustees also showed their support at the township meeting Monday.

Trustees followed suit and approved the submission of a letter addressed to Chris Korleski, Ohio EPA director, promoting the notion of returning landfill licensing and monitoring duties back to the Columbiana County Health District. The county was disengaged of its landfill duties in 2004 when multiple state regulations were violated and a lawsuit was issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

There are currently two construction and demolition debris landfills in the county with one located in Rogers and the other in Negley. A third location was recently closed after numerous citations were assigned

"As trustees for Liverpool Township and a voting member of the Columbiana County Health District Advisory Council, we respectfully request that the county landfill program, specifically including CD&D Facilities, be returned to the local general health district," the letter, approved by the trustees, read.

Fiscal Officer Katherine Bosco, while reading the letter, stated the return of control to the local level will lead to more frequent inspections and more timely responses to the public's concerns.

In addition, the re-designation, would allow the EPA to reallocate manpower, the letter from the health district, said.

Trustee Chairman Karl Kontnier made a motion to adopt and send the letter and had unanimous support from fellow trustees Steve Betteridge and Keith Burke.

Kontnier said he assumes the county is trying to regain control of the landfills because of the "tipping fees" or per-ton dumping fees which can bring money to the county.

Also at the township meeting, the trustees approved a permit to allow Columbia Gas to work in the right-of-way to install a gas line to LaCroft Elementary School.

Susan Thompson, representative, attended the meeting and requested that her company be able to drill bore pits due to the directional drilling of a new gas line. The bore openings will be approximately five feet wide by five feet long and be a depth of about five feet.

According to data presented to the trustees, the bore pits and main line will be installed about two to three feet off the existing roadway and the only openings should be where the bore pits will be drilled. A pit will be placed just off of Lisbon Street, on Densmore Avenue and on Boring Lane.

Since construction will be minimal, and the drilling and line installation will happen off of the roadway, Kontnier said he had no problems with accepting the application by Thompson.

"I'm very pleased it's going to be bored and it's going to be off the road," Kontnier said. "That part is great."

Thompson said in the future, customers may be able to tap into the line, but at this time, the gas line is only for the LaCroft Elementary property. The project is projected to be completed by autumn and Thompson said notifications will be sent out to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the trustees several days before work will begin.