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Landfill Forum Spurs On Debate An imposing figure who stands about 6-foot-6-inches tall, the county councilman acted as a one-man meditation squad, making sure everyone who wanted to talk got the chance. When one woman began yelling at Stephen Fleischman, vice president of the Halle Cos., Mr. Reilly quickly diffused the tension with the confidence that displayed his father-of-four status. "We need to focus on the process. I understand. I'm on your side," the Crofton Republican said, then moved on to a question on asbestos. The forum in Gambrills focused on the issue of a plan by Halle subsidiary National Waste Managers for a rubble landfill in the Forks of the Patuxent neighborhood of Odenton, a plan that has been the subject of court battles and a sometimes hostile debate in the community for at least 15 years. Mr. Fleischman was there to spread the gospel of the company, discussing the developer's successes with the Seven Oaks community in Odenton and Kingstowne in Fairfax County, Va. "People say 'that's the guy who wants to open the landfill,' but we're really a lot more than that," he said. "We're working with you to see if you can reap some of the benefits." Later he said the company could be beneficial to the community. "If people would just give us a chance, they'd see we're the best neighbors they've ever had," he said. The key presenter at the forum was Edward M. Dexter, Maryland Department of the Environment's solid waste program administrator. As a man whose face lights up when he explains landfill liners, the environmental expert walked the 35 attendees through definitions of a rubble landfill, what it would mean for an American Indian tribe to be granted the land, and what different phases of an application permit mean. A rubble landfill only takes land clearing, construction and demolition debris, not municipal waste, he said. No decision has been made on whether the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma has a right to acquire the land, which would allow Halle to build the landfill and be overseen by the federal government, not the state. The state has much more stringent rubble landfill standards, Mr. Dexter said. Both U.S. Rep. Benjamin Cardin, D-Baltimore, County Executive Janet S. Owens and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. are opposed to the nation acquiring the land, he said. "The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) hasn't ruled on it, but it's not unusual for them to go with the governor and the state," he said. "Maybe it's going away, it remains to be seen." Although the company is in the engineering phase, or Phase III, of its application with MDE, Mr. Dexter said the company has not resolved the location of the access road to the landfill. "Apparently he doesn't own two pieces of property .... and one isn't readily available," he said. The latest round of landfill discussions began in September, after council president Torrey Jacobsen Jr. and Greater Odenton Improvement Association president Harry Sinclair Jr. signed a nonbinding agreement that states the groups would drop their opposition to a Chesapeake Terrace rubble landfill in exchange for several perks from the Silver Spring-based Halle Cos. These include a public pool and 500-acre park, the company building and then leasing back a high school, and pay a community panel up to $750,000. Council vice President David Gray, who led the forum committee, spoke about the special exception. Mr. Jacobsen stood in the back and did not speak, which was not a coincidence. "I bit my tongue," he said later. Even if the night contained less vitriol, there's little question some West County residents remain vehemently opposed to the idea of the landfill. Piney Orchard resident Barbara Strickler said she was infuriated by the company's tactics. "Look what it's going to do to our quality of life," she said. "I'm just so angry, and I know everything he's doing is within the law." Crownsville resident Scott Hymes, a member of the Severn River Commission, said it does not make sense to put a proposed landfill so close to the Patuxent Refuge and Jug Bay. One attendant asked if U.S. Fish and Wildlife could be enticed to help. The answer - not likely - prompted Mr. Reilly to say, "Let's find an eagle's nest gentlemen." "They're not endangered anymore," Mr. Fleischman replied mildly.
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