Rumpke Plays County Residents for "Chumps" and invests $100M in Columbus; Thank Comm'r Driehaus

Rumpke dumps Hamilton County residents; invests $100M in Columbus, with 460 jobs, a state-of-the-art clean facility, and a training centerPhoto byRumpke. Retrived August 9, 2024

Rumpke has played Hamilton County residents for "chumps," according to local advocate Carrie Davis. She says, Rumpke made a fortune dumping garbage from 5 states in the county's backyard for decades and then chose to invest millions in Columbus, Ohio instead of Cincinnati.

Rumpke invested $100M in a state-of-the-art, clean recycling facility that provides 460 good-paying jobs, a training center, scholarships, a museum display. and creating an economic boom for Columbus. Rumpke left behind the stench of decades of decomposing waste for the residents of Hamilton County.

Thanks to Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus.

While Rumpke was scouting for a location for its new facility, it simultaneously waged a legal battle against residents in order to keep expanding its dumping of toxic waste in Southwest Ohio, particularly Colerain, Whitewater, and Harrison.

Carrie Davis, Director of Greater Community Groups, Inc. (formerly Child Advocacy for Rights & Equity, Inc.), a nonprofit foundation that advocates on behalf of residents. These rules would have provided Hamilton County the negotiating power to land this development here.

Unfortunately, according to Davis,

Commissioner Driehaus and a handful of local elected officials made it possible for Rumpke to leave residents behind to breathe in the putrid stench of corruption while Rumpke moved to greener pastures. We had the leverage to make sure this new facility was built in Hamilton County and but for these officials being more interested in their campaign coffers than the health, rights, and financial advantages of their residents, this $100 million would have been invested in the county that has harbored the burdens for Rumpke's wealth.

Rumpke faced the imposition of rules, proposed by Davis, to regulate the operation of landfills in Hamilton County for the first time in county history. In the 1980's most counties passed rules for the siting, conditions, and operation of landfills in their jurisdiction.

Hamilton County did not.

Comm'r Driehaus arguing against rules to regulate landfills with Tony DiPuccio, a Rumpke-paid consultant at her right hand.Photo byThe Cincinnati Post, October 2023

Hamilton County illegally allowed Rumpke to sit on the board that oversees - its self - landfills. Over the decades, elected officials permitted Rumpke to have an undue influence and skirt the imposition of county oversight rules for nearly 30 years.

Driehaus had the opportunity to "right the ship and instead, she sunk it. She sunk it and then buried it under Mt. Rumpke," according to Davis, who brought the absence of landfill rules to the forefront in 2021. It took almost a year to convince the county Solid Waste Policy Committee to pass rules to regulate Rumpke and that gave the county commissioners the authority to veto the Ohio EPA's determinations on the size, location, and operation of landfills in the county. Until Davis' proposal, Rumpke had operated with carte blanche control as it built its monopoly over the decades while sidestepping pollution controls, odor complaints, and basic property rights of residents.

Bill Rumpke appealed to both Commissioner Driehaus and, then-mayor, John Cranley, to block the new rule, a rule nearly identical to the rules passed in Columbus, Franklin County decades ago and that mirrored the recommendations of advocate, Carrie Davis.

NPR, WVXU reported:

Bill Rumpke III is regional vice president for Rumpke Waste and Recycling. He says the rules are unreasonable, expensive, and arduous. "The extra step is not a best use of the Commission's time or resources, and will dramatically impact the timelines and budgets of these projects," Rumpke told commissioners ahead of the vote.

Instead of supporting the rules derived from those existing in Columbus, Driehaus chose to haul trash for Rumpke.

In early 2022, she and Deter's office (and then Powers') gutted the first rule in county history to regulate landfills. The rule that had been painstakingly approved by the county commissioners and the county Solid Waste Policy Committee, with input from all the major players including members of the Sierra Club, Oxbow, Rivers Unlimited, the League of Women Voters, and Cardinal Land Conservancy.

The organizations who helped draft the rule and the Policy Committee members, themselves, were furious with Driehaus. Driehaus refused to discuss the matter, even in Executive Session, with the Policy Committee which had the power to draft and propose these rules. Driehaus withheld the most basic information on her negotiations behind the scenes with Rumpke and refused to allow the committee to speak to their legal counsel:

Magness pushed forward at the September meeting with an air of frustration in her voice asking Driehaus and their legal counsel, Nee Fong Chin, “Will we get the legal opinion?”

Chin: “You’ve got the opinion.”

Magness: “This isn’t a legal opinion. It doesn’t have any references to laws or statutes, or even the attorney who wrote it… will we get the actual (legal) opinion?” referring to a brief memo provided by Deters’ staff.

Chin: “What is your question?”

Magness: “Will we get the legal opinion Mr. Kesterman asked for (back in July)? …signed by an attorney. This is not a legal opinion – this is a memo. I want a legal opinion!”

Driehaus: “That’s what’s in front of us.”

Magness: “No, it’s not!” flustered and frustrated after waiting since May. “No, it’s not. I want the whole thing! I want to see our own opinion.”

Chin: Referring to Jeff Alutto, “He chose not to give you the opinion.”

Magness: “I just want to see it -- the real thing.”

Watch the entire video (@1:47:23 here )

Sue Magness, demanded to see the legal opinion Driehaus claimed justified her revising the rule to more favorable terms for RumpkePhoto byThe Cincinnati Post, October 2023

Driehaus never did provide anyone on the committee, or otherwise, the legal opinion from Deters' office that asserted the rule passed by the committee, commissioners, and the subcommittee was unconstitutional.

Because it wasn't.

Sue Magness was removed by then-mayor John Cranley within weeks after this incident and after Cranley received a $25K donation from the Rumpkes. Her absence made it impossible to override Driehaus' control.

In fact, 2 more committee members resigned under pressure from Driehaus and were replaced with persons instructed by Driehaus not to "rock the boat".

One member remained on the board at Driehaus' right hand - a paid consultant for Rumpke.

Driehaus has refused to appoint anyone to the committee from an environmental advocacy group or who supports passing rules to regulate landfills.

The Rumpkes donated nearly $100K in the last 5 years to various elected officials who controlled oversight of landfills, including Driehaus.Photo byOhio Secretary of State, Retrieved August 9, 2024

Denise Driehaus received at least $10K in donations from Rumpke and their lawyers being named chair of the Solid Waste Policy Committee. John Cranley received $25K. Joe Deters has received at least $8.2K. State Representative Cindy Abrams has received at least $21K (she is on the state rules committee). Senator Bill Blessing received at least $6K. Colerain Township trustees Matt Wahlert (sits on the policy committee) received at least 7.5K, Dan Unger - $8K, Kathy Ulrich - $8K. The GOP has received well over $75K. The Ohio DNC received $55.17 (because Democrats are supposed to be for environmental justice).

Rumpke paid out a little over $100K in campaign donations to local elected officials in recent years. None to Columbus. Not a penny. Columbus had leverage to negotiate with Rumpke to acquire a $100 million facility because they have rules. They play by rules. Commissioner Denise Driehaus and other local officials had already played their hands and Driehaus left Rumpke with a full house - to take to Columbus.

Davis is sickened by the special treatment given to Rumpke that has destroyed 1 township and is about to destroy another in SW Hamilton County. She has told a few candidates about how Driehaus "gave away Hamilton County," recently. She asked them, "I could agree with 99% of what Driehaus does, but just 1% corruption is too much for me. How much will you tolerate?"