OPINION: Driehaus-Rumpke: Corruption and Toxic Waste in County Politics

Campaign finance reports indicate a financial relationship initiated in 2022 between Rumpke and County Commissioner Denise Driehaus. During this period, Driehaus facilitated the passage of a controversial rule within the County Solid Waste Plan, contradicting her commitments to constituents concerned with toxic waste being brought into Hamilton County. Driehaus' rule revisions greatly benefitted Rumpke and devastated the future of Harrison and Whitewater as it has Colerain Township.

Due to Driehaus' actions as a commissioner and as chair of the Solid Waste Policy Committee, (SWPC), Clermont County dumped 2,300 tons of garbage in the backyards of Hamilton County residents. Rumpke hauled the hazardous waste to their facility in Colerain and earned $218,000 - Hamilton County got the hazards of the leachate, the monitoring costs, and that stench that comes from Driehaus permitting every county in the tristate to continue to use Hamilton County as their free dumping ground.

Rumpke became the final destination of the toxic waste from East Palenstine due to Driehaus' lax rules. Now, their problem is our problem.Photo byGene J. Puskar/Associated Press, April 17, 2023

This is not the first time that Driehaus' actions resulted in county neighborhoods being the trash destination for hazardous waste. Toxic waste from East Palestine was hauled to Hamilton County on the back of Driehaus' revisions to the rule. While the Ohio EPA has been very vocal about the hazards to health and community from this accident, the end result is that Hamilton County taxpayers will bear the impact and responsibility for allowing this toxic sludge to be indefinitely reprocessed in county facilities.

Driehaus took several actions during her tenure as chair of the SWPC that protected Rumpke's regional monopoly at the expense of county residents.

• Driehaus declined to remove Rumpke from the SWPC despite the apparent conflict of interest inherent in a landfill operator serving on the regulatory committee that also allocates funds to them. Rumpke resigned only after being threatened with legal action.
• It was later revealed to the public, although Driehaus was already aware, that another SWPC member was a consultant paid by Rumpke; she refused to remove him due to this conflict of interest in violation of Ohio Ethics rules.
• Driehaus collaborated with the county prosecutor's office, a recipient of over $20,000 from Rumpke, to covertly amend the rule in Rumpke's favor, excluding public and committee participation to the detriment of the county.
• Driehaus refused to support increased fees for dumping in the county, making it cheaper for everyone to toss their trash in Hamilton County, and
• Driehaus refused to permit mandatory recycling.
• The amendments enacted by Driehaus effectively
• • removed all enforcement and oversight authority from the SWPC,
  • concentrating power on a single employee reporting directly to Driehaus.
  • reduced public input, eliminating the obligation for this employee to consider public feedback or the siting criteria in the rule,
  • mading public hearings on new landfills and expansions optional.
  • asked for the resignation of two public committee members at the end of their terms, both of whom had served for over a decade. She then filled their positions with her own appointees instructing them privately: “don’t rock the boat.”

She was paid well for ensuring Hamilton County would continue to be the Trash Capitol of the United States instead of making other counties provide for the disposal of their own trash, as the law requires.

Driehaus accepted donations from Rumpke and their legal representatives while shepherding her revised rule through approval process.Photo byOhio Secretary of State, Campaign FInance retrieved July 6, 2024

The Ohio Secretary of State's Campaign Finance website reports that Driehaus received a minimum of $8,000 from Rumpke and their legal counsel, Tom Tepe of KMK Law, after her closed-door modification of a rule previously endorsed by the Solid Waste Policy Committee (SWPC) and numerous Democratic institutions.

The original rule had the backing of the Solid Waste Caucus, including members of the League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, Oxbow, Ditch the Dump, Rivers Unlimited, Cardinal Land Conservatory, and Greater Community Groups, along with hundreds of county residents who actively sought support for the rule. It was approved by a subcommittee of the SWPC, followed by the full SWPC, and ultimately by the county commissioners.

Rumpke, as expected, filed a lawsuit despite the rule's language being carefully crafted to reflect precedents that had withstood legal scrutiny in multiple Ohio counties.

Deinse Gets It Done for Rumpke when her revised rule allowed Rumpke to open another landfill in the county in the Harrison / Whitewater areaPhoto byDriehaus for Commissioner, retrieved July 6, 2024

Driehaus quickly broke her promises to stalwart organizations that supported her for decades. She chose not to depend on legal precedents or the expertise of the rule's supporters. Collaborating, instead, with the prosecutor's office, which had received substantial donations from Rumpke, she independently rewrote the rule. She then expedited its inclusion in the County Solid Waste Plan. She navigated it through the county-wide ratification process over the following year guaranteeing that other counties could continue to dump their toxic waste in Hamilton County.

In the meantime, financial contributions from Rumpke flowed in as Driehaus broke her promises to key organizations supporting the Democratic Party and residents who her reversal would harm.

Throughout this period, Driehaus's actions contradicted her campaign slogan of "promises kept," outraging various groups, organizations, and supporters.

According to Carrie Davis, director of Greater Community Groups, who introduced the rule-making powers of the county:

She sold us out – cheap. The only way to fix this broken promise and “get it done” is for the public to hold her accountable in November. The damage is done.