The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency directed Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility in an Aug. 22 letter to measure whether the soil is slipping and consider installing engineering supports to strengthen a wall at the landfill, which runs next to Interstate 77 in Stark County's Pike Township.

Residents and Club 3000, a local environmental organization, have complained to the state EPA since 1999 about foul odors, underground fires and structural problems at the 258-acre landfill, said Tom O'Dell, the group's spokesman.

The landfill is one of Ohio's largest, handling about 6,000 tons of garbage a day from northern Ohio. Agency officials described it as "significantly malfunctioning" in February and named it one of its top priorities after it produced foul-smelling odors for months.

The landfill owner, Republic Services of Ohio, agreed to pay about $1 million in fines and other costs and to follow strict state orders to solve the odor and fire problems, which they said would cost an additional $22 million a year to implement.

Landfill officials said on Friday that they've already taken appropriate steps to monitor the cracks, which they said were caused when buried garbage settles and is a normal part of landfills.

The cracks are contained in the center of an 88-acre area and will not cause instability at the outer edges, the company said in a statement. Company engineers installed 66 iron pins on the landfill's western slope, and an analysis showed no ground movement that would indicate instability or impending landslides, the company said.

The landfill's west border is along the interstate, which is used by about 32,000 motorists a day. There is a 1,000-foot clearance between the landfill and the highway, as well as a 100-foot-wide berm on top of the west wall that keeps landfill waste from moving onto the highway, the company said.

If signs of instability do appear, the company said it is confident that there would be enough time to install supports.