CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — State engineers have concluded they cannot yet determine whether the operator of the former Mead Industrial Landfill on Paint Street is eligible to end its post-closure care obligation — and groundwater sampling conducted just weeks before that conclusion reveals why the question remains open.
An internal Ohio EPA memo dated August 4, 2026, drafted by Division of Materials and Waste Management engineer Moses Mncina, states the agency’s evaluation “does not take into account all the relevant information to reliably anticipate whether the owner/operator/permittee is eligible to end post-closure care.”
The current operator, MW Custom Papers, LLC, submitted a post-closure care certification report on May 29, 2026 — the formal step that initiates the process of ending the state-mandated 30-year monitoring and maintenance period. State engineers conducted a physical site inspection on June 30.
What the inspection found
The landfill’s clay cap was intact and vegetated. No significant erosion, bare spots, ponding, or slope instability were observed. The perimeter toe drain collecting leachate beneath the cap and routing it off-site to the US Gloves wastewater treatment plant appeared to be functioning as designed.
But the memo flags a significant data reliability problem covering three consecutive years. Leachate volumes reported for 2023, 2024, and 2025 are considered unreliable due to operational and contractor issues during that period. That gap leaves state regulators without dependable trend data for the most recent years leading up to the certification request.
The facility has no active or passive gas collection system. Monitoring is conducted through five perimeter probes, three probe locations, and eight sampling points through the cap into the waste mass.
What the groundwater data shows
Separate field sampling records from May 18 and 19, 2026, conducted by Langan Engineering on behalf of WestRock — a previous operator — provide a snapshot of current groundwater conditions across nineteen monitoring wells at the site.
Lab results from ALS Environmental, submitted under work order HN2608647, show a pattern of detections across multiple wells that regulators have tracked for years at this site.
Manganese was detected across numerous wells. The highest reading came from well P12-30R, which returned a total manganese result of 0.751 mg/L and a dissolved manganese result of 0.709 mg/L. Well P11-52 returned 0.572 mg/L total manganese and 0.542 mg/L dissolved. Well P9-45R returned 0.438 mg/L total and 0.429 mg/L dissolved. Well P20-50 returned 0.474 mg/L total and 0.447 mg/L dissolved.
Iron readings were elevated in several wells. Well P11-52 returned a total iron result of 20.5 mg/L, with 4.24 mg/L dissolved. Well P21-47 returned 13.8 mg/L total iron. Well P9-45R returned 10.7 mg/L total iron.
Arsenic was detected across all ten sampled wells, though all results carried a “J” qualifier indicating estimated concentrations between the method detection limit and the reporting limit. The highest total arsenic reading came from well P9-45R at 0.00364 mg/L. Well P21-47 returned 0.00223 mg/L total arsenic.
Chloride readings ranged from 20.6 mg/L in well P16-50 to 54.0 mg/L in well P19-50. Ammonia was detected in multiple wells, with the highest reading of 1.47 mg/L in well P11-52.
The lab’s case narrative notes that the method blank for chloride showed contamination above the detection limit, meaning positive chloride results in the batch may be biased high. A similar notation applies to dissolved potassium and manganese in separate analytical runs.
A PFAS sample was taken
Field notes from the May 20, 2026 leachate collection event include a notable detail. The field form states: “PFAS sample taken using certified PFAS-free bailer taken as single grab from 2nd manhole.” Results from that PFAS sample are not included in the lab report provided. Whether those results have been submitted to Ohio EPA is not known based on available records.
The Paint Street Landfill received industrial waste tied to former Mead paper mill operations, including ash and processing materials. PFAS compounds have been documented in the production of coated specialty papers.
The financial standoff
The August 4 memo also surfaces an unresolved dispute over post-closure care costs that has been sitting on the books since 2020. Ohio EPA directed WestRock that year to maintain financial assurance at a minimum of $842,409 following extended discussions over the company’s proposed revisions to the cost estimate. The memo states no reductions to that financial assurance are appropriate until an agreement on the extended post-closure care period is reached. That agreement remains unresolved.
IMAGES BELOW ARE EPA MAPS SHOWING OFFSITE ARSENIC AND MANGANESE LEVELS COMING FROM THE OLD PAINT STREET LANDFILL.
