Randolph Farms Landfill is a 120 acre (486,000 m²) landfill

Landfill

A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...

 owned by the Balkema family of Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo, Michigan

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

, located in Modoc, Indiana

Modoc, Indiana

Modoc is a town in Union Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 196 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Modoc is located at ....

. In addition to Randolph County, it serves Delaware

Delaware County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 118,769 people, 47,131 households, and 29,692 families residing in the county. The population density was 302 people per square mile . There were 51,032 housing units at an average density of 130 per square mile...

, Madison

Madison County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 133,358 people, 53,052 households, and 36,234 families residing in the county. The population density was 295 people per square mile . There were 56,939 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile...

, Jay

Jay County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,806 people, 8,405 households, and 6,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile . There were 9,074 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

, Wayne

Wayne County, Indiana

Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,917. The county seat is Richmond.-History:...

, and Henry Counties

Henry County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,508 people, 19,486 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 20,592 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

 in Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, as well as Darke

Darke County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 53,309 people, 20,419 households, and 14,905 families residing in the county. The population density was 89 people per square mile . There were 21,583 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile...

 and Miami Counties

Miami County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 98,868 people, 38,437 households, and 27,943 families residing in the county. The population density was 243 people per square mile . There were 40,554 housing units at an average density of 100 per square mile...

 in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

.

The owners of the landfill are, as of June 22, 2004, petitioning the Randolph County Board of Zoning Appeals

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

 to allow for an expansion, nearly three times its current size, in order that the landfill continue operation for another 50 years. Similar attempts at expansion were denied twice in the 1990s.

Opponents of expansion, in the majority in largely rural Randolph County, point out that only 6% of the trash in the landfill is from Randolph County, whereas most of it is from Miami County. The landfill could likely reach a height of 165 feet (50 m), which would make it not only one of the largest landfills in the state, but also the highest point of elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 in Indiana. The landfill would allegedly be visible for over a mile (2 km) away.

Randolph Farms was built on a limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

, directly over sand and gravel aquifer

Aquifer

An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...

s, near the drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

s of White River

White River (Indiana)

The White River is a two-forked river that flows through central and southern Indiana and is the main tributary to the Wabash River. Via the west fork, considered to be the main stem of the river by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the White River is long.-West Fork:The West Fork, long, is...

 and Whitewater River

Whitewater River (Indiana)

The Whitewater River is a tributary of the Great Miami River in southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio in the United States. It is formed by the confluence of two forks, the West Fork and East Fork....

.

Opponents, citing the previous denials of expansion, say it should again be denied due to groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 contamination

Contamination

Contamination is the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent in material, physical body, natural environment, at a workplace, etc.-Specifics:"Contamination" also has more specific meanings in science:...

, as well as increased traffic, odor, and lower aesthetics

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...

 and property values. Organic farmers

Organic farming

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...

 have claimed that toxins could affect their produce yields.

In the mid 1990s, groundwater monitoring wells detected low levels of volatile organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

s, due to the landfill gas

Landfill gas

Landfill gas is a complex mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill.-Production:Landfill gas production results from chemical reactions and microbes acting upon the waste as the putrescible materials begins to break down in the landfill...

 produced by the landfill. Tests dating to 1999 show that the high permeability of the underground aquifer point to a high risk for water pollution

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

.