Arco Appeals Toxic Dump -EPA ruling

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 09:46.
03/01/2017 - 09:41
Etc/GMT-4

Here's a Noble Road illegal dump update. No arrests ... yet. Arco has appealed. The pre-hearing is scheduled for March 1, 2017 at 10 a.m. in Columbus. Arco is alleging that Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler didn't have the legal authority to close the dump and that his clean-up time is unreasonable. He gave them two weeks. The woman in the picture is Christina Beynon, the current Arco dump owner.

I wrote the letter below as an email to Julie Slane, who's the executive secretary for the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission. 77 South High Street, 17th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 466-8950

The reason for the letter is simple. Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler's got one perspective. He's covering his ass whether his handling of the closing was legal or not. He's not going to present the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission with a copy of Jim Riffle's report. They may never even know of its existence because he has no interest in validating it.

So aside from Butler protecting his own interests, because he damn sure didn't protect the interests of East Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid and Euclid residents, the board has to know residents see themselves as a party of interest in the appellate decision. So to Ruth Gray who's on council in South Euclid, and to the members of Cleveland Heights and Euclid city councils, Stephana Childs Caviness, I'm encouraging you to push your law departments to make your cities parties to this action. I would encourage the members of Cleveland city council to follow suit, but Cleveland is one of the offending parties. Cleveland city council has a committee that oversees the Division of Air Pollution Control that's under Mayor Frank Jackson's supervision. Jeffrey Johnson serves on the council committee that should be reviewing licensing applications and inspection reports because it's Cleveland's duty to protect the county's air quality.

Don't forget our communitywide meeting this Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 10 a.m. 15837 Euclid Avenue. The Empowerment Church president over by Rev. Anthony L Mattox Jr. Environmental hygienist Jim Riffle will be in attendance to answer questions. All affected residents are welcomed.

My letter to the appeals commission is below. You cannot relent if you want to win a war. Use every opportunity to push your position. We've got to now keep the dump closed and get it cleaned. It ain't over 'til it's over.

FROM BREWER TO SLANE: Please provide me with a copy of the Arco appeal filed in Case No. 17-6906 pursuant to Ohio's open government act, R.C. 149.43.

I am meeting on Tuesday, February 14, with a group of residents who live with the Arco dump site directly in their backyards. More than 100,000 residents in a densely populated urban neighborhood where the dump exists have been affected by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, glass particles, asbestos, hydrogen sulfide gas, acid rain and more. It exists not more than 1000 feet from a high school and about 500 feet from the high school's stadium. An elementary school is less than 500 feet away from this toxic death site. A woman who lives with the dump in her back yard died last year of a sudden lung cancer. The reports I'm getting from residents being stricken with cancers and other mysterious ailments are alarming.

I have attached a copy of a highly-respected independent environmental hygienist's report of the toxins he collected from homes with the dump in their backyard and sent to a lab for testing. This report has been shared with Craig Butler at the Ohio EPA and Richard Hodges at the Ohio Department of Health. It identifies the toxins I've shared above and more that are found at the site. The residents want it included in the record for the appeals board to review.

The residents are alleging that both the Ohio EPA and Cleveland's Division of Air Pollution Control were negligent in allowing the Arco site to be licensed. It was originally claimed that the Arco site would operate as a recycling facility. There was never an attempt on the part of Arco's owners to separate and recycle the construction and demolition debris despite their false assertion to the Ohio EPA that it was their intent. Evidence of a 4 to 5 story pile of co-mingled construction and demolition debris with household waste and radioactive materials shows they always intended to operate a landfill in a neighborhood. This is confirmed in the Ohio EPA and Cleveland Division of Air Pollution Control's 27 inspection visits. "Fugitive dust" was identified at the Arco illegal dump. Negligent Ohio EPA and Cleveland Division of Air Pollution Control officials failed to have the "fugitive dust" tested. We did.

I have provided you also with a copy of the only ordinance East Cleveland city council enacted relative to the Arco illegal dump. Ord. No. 11-14 authorized the mayor only to transfer the property to Arco's owners to prepare it for redevelopment. The land was purchased from the city's landbank. The city's landbank ordinance includes a two year reversionary clause that if the property is not used in the manner specified by the ordinance it reverts back to the city.

The city council did not authorize its former mayor to "release" the Arco owners from the reversionary clause or to operate a recycling facility. The Ohio EPA and Cleveland Air Pollution Control officials issued the license without first consulting with the city's ordinances to even learn how the land was authorizd to be used. All of the governing authorities violated federal "Right to Know" laws regarding the deadly toxins the site was emitting. There is no ordinance that authorized another use for the landbank land, or to be rezoned from a manufacturing and industrial site to a landfill.

Residents further allege that Ohio EPA official were not truthful to a member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, when she asked for testing. She was lied to be Ohio EPA director Butler, who claimed that no asbestos was found at the site. U.S. Rep. Fudge asked him to test further, which he did not do.

The residents in this case believe they are party of interest in the proceedings and seek to have their voices and complaints heard. They have independently obtained credible evidence of the deadly toxins coming from the Arco illegal dump site. They have recalled the mayor and former council president who rigged the government to allow the illegal Arco dump to operate. Some are now beginning to secure legal counsel to file claims against Arco and the state. Some are seeking medical attention. There is a campaign underway to inform more than 100,000 affected residents of the site's contaminants. At least one city council, Cleveland Heights, has expressed an interest in pursuing its legal remedies against Arco and the state. I'm certain your agency will hear from elected official in Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, Euclid and East Cleveland who want the illegal dump removed as soon as humanly possible.

I'm aware that there is a pre-trial hearing scheduled for March 1. Some of the residents have expressed an interest in attending.

I'm confident that the residents want it known that they are parties of interest in this proceeding and will file any brief necessary to have their voices heard in the discussion. While the Ohio EPA's own negligence, along with that of Cleveland's mayor and council, contributed to the illegal dump's existence, they support the Ohio EPA's decision for it to be permanently closed and immediately cleaned.

Respectfully,
Eric Jonathan Brewer
Former Mayor / City of East Cleveland

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Jeffrey Johnson - and residency in CLE

From Eric J Brewer:

 

It's 1967. Attorney Carl Stokes is running for mayor of Cleveland in the general election and his opponent is the grandson of President Howard Taft, a man by the name of Seth Taft. Where does Taft's family live? Pepper Pike. How is he running in Cleveland? He rented an apartment in the city. Thanks to a friend for reminding me of the Stokes / Taft residency issue.

I'm 63 and remember the stories of my father and those older than me in politics. When the Descendant of Slaves (DOS) community gained a political majority in a neighborhood, white men would rent addresses in their area to run for an office. The parties would suppress the black vote and the white candidate would win over the DOS candidate.

It's 2017. 50 years after Stokes became Cleveland's first DOS mayor. Instead of white men playing the "rent an address" game, DOS men are playing it. Today, however, pursuant to R.C. 3503.02 enacted in 2005 it's illegal. Residence is where your family resides.

Cleveland councilman Jeffrey Johnson's family resides in Twinsburg in Summit County and Basheer Jones has one wife in South Euclid and another in Atlanta, Georgia. Neither of his families resides in Cleveland and we already know the story about the Hough house he doesn't live in.

The petitions Jeff and Basheer submitted to the elections board contain fraudulent information about their residency which they have declared under oath to be true. They signed it. They're grown and educated men who know and should fully-understand the legal consequences of their deceptions on Cleveland voters. It's worse for Jeff because he's an attorney and has already been convicted federally for crimes while in elected office.

Election fraud is a 5th degree felony. Why candidates today think they can get away with this shit is illogical with all the information that's online. What? Do you think no one's going to check or that the people of Cleveland are just stupid? Jeff's not even thinking about losing his law license all over again, and this time permanently because he didn't learn his lesson the last time.

Anyone who believes they have been harmed by their unlawful doesn't have to wait for the board of elections to make a determination. File a "complaint on knowledge" against them directly with a "reviewing official" who is either a judge or a prosecutor. Support it with allegations of election fraud against officials at the board of elections for accepting and validating the fraudulent petitions. Title 35 gave board officials instructions they disobeyed.

Pat McDonald and Brent Lawler operate the elections board like a vote stealing, voter disenfranchising racketeering criminal enterprise to protect law breaking elected officials from both parties. Notice the complaint against Basheer but not one against Jeff. Keep in mind that the board doesn't have to receive an actual complaint. They can act and have a duty to do so when they "learn" through unofficial sources that a candidate has violated laws. If you simply emailed my posts to pmcdonald [at] cuyahogacounty [dot] us that would be notice to McDonald of Jeff's election law violations and he would have a duty to initiate a complaint against him on his own.

Right now as I write there are elected office holders in every category holding office illegally because they failed to turn in their campaign finance reports and took office anyway. R.C. 3517.10 sets forth timetables of 12 days before a primary and 38 days after a general election as the drop dead filing deadline at 4 p.m. R.C. 3517.11 does not authorize the board of elections to issue certificates of nomination or election to candidates who fail to meet these deadlines; and the candidates are instructed not to enter upon the performance of the duties of the office if they don't comply with R.C. 3517.10.

The politics and lawbreaking at the board makes it impossible for Cuyahoga County voters to have confidence in this county's election process. File a complaint with the county prosecutor, Mike O'Malley, even though he's the board's legal advisor. He should have advised them to obey and enforce election laws. I'd also send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions. He's looking for voter fraud cases. He can assign federal prosecutors to investigate the election stealing elections board, its officials and the fraudulent candidates.

The statutory "complaint on knowledge" process in Ohio's revised code is 2935.09. If you file the complaint with a prosecutor, and that official refuses to move it forward, you can use the same Ohio Revised Code to file a complaint against them with a judge in 309.05. That heading is captioned, "Removal of prosecuting attorney." And when this law makes reference to the word "removal," it means to "remove their ass from office."

Candidates. Refuse and ignore the advice of those who have their preferred candidates and don't want you to expose them. The residency of your opponent is a valid issue. Your critics are only crying because there's something in it for them if their candidate wins and they don't want you hurting them. That's when you go HAM on their asses.

Voters who are watching the two stories unfold. Many have been lulled into a false sense of reality of what constitutes "mud" and "personal attacks" in contrast to valid issues. It's understood that voters have personal favorites and friends in politics, but you're just as bad as the law breaking candidate if you support their unlawful conduct. Neither of you should be trusted and I mean that with all sincerity. The only way we're going to stop this bullshit is if "we" stop it.

I'd play pool with Carl Stokes when I saw him occasionally at either Jillian's or Sharkey's. We talked. He was a guest on my radio show. I was the last journalist to interview him. This shit is real to me in ways most of you will never understand, which is why I give no weight to the words of my critics. If I was concerned about what was going to be said about me I wouldn't be campaigning to become Cleveland's next mayor.

I would be a disgrace to Carl's legacy if I was running to lead the same city he did and I let black politicians do to DOS's what segregationist politicians did to us back then. This is the main reason I'm running against Mayor Frank Jackson. He's worst than Ralph Locher when Carl beat his ass in the primary in 1967. Read your history. Locher didn't give a shit about DOS's or Cleveland.

Jeffrey Johnson is not eligible to serve on Cleveland city council or to campaign for mayor; and he along with SEIU have committed felony election fraud. I am aware of three separate individuals who are planning to file criminal complaints against him and the board. Like Frank, Jeff is a disgrace to Carl's legacy. The Stokes brothers viewed him as a sychophant and a grandstanding ass kisser.

Basheer Jones is not eligible to seek or serve on Cleveland city council as a dual resident of South Euclid and Atlanta. For both of these men, you would be well-advised to withdraw your petitions as candidates for Cleveland offices. This shit's historical for us and ain't nobody playing. You're no better than the segregationists who worked to disenfranchise the DOS vote. Run where your families live.

Jeff, you'd be well-advised to resign the council seat, withdraw from the race, return the money and apologize. Don't cast another vote or accept another check. You know better and I've already gotten a preview of your argument. It's weak.

Michael L Nelson Sr called me while we were in the middle of blasting each other on Facebook. He played that lawyer "not necessarily" game and offered a feeble attempt to defend your misconduct. That shit got shot down in the face of the plain language of the statute. Even he had to admit he was toying with words. That's not being a good friend and you need to change your friends if they're always around when you get into trouble. There's a reason I avoided the political crew that makes up your inner circle