From left, Christy and Josh Noble and their son, Henry, 9, give their cat Oscar a drink of water from their well. The Nobles own a home on Toussaint North Road in Benton Township and are worried about their water well, which is only a few hundred yards away from Rocky Ridge Development LLC’s quarry operation.
They’re dumping it and running back and getting another load," Herrig said.
Benton Township opponents say Rocky Ridge Development LLC dumped spent lime sludge into excavated cells and covered it with dirt, not in compliance with the company’s Ohio EPA Land Application Management Plan (LAMP) permit, which requires the lime sludge to be dry and mixed with 65 percent native soil to 35 percent dried sludge from the treatment plant.
Rocky Ridge Development LLC representatives have repeatedly insisted publicly that they are following the conditions of their Ohio EPA-issued LAMP permit and are safely disposing of the treated lime sludge from the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant.
In its appeal, the township alleged the dumping at the quarry endangered human health and the environment and is unlawful because the EPA permit allows waste to be placed within an aquifer that serves nearby wells and provides drinking water.
Wadsworth said residents’ wells in the area are connected to that aquifer.
Josh Noble remembers when Stoneco used to operate a quarry at the site.
No EPA decision has been made on the company’s alternative waste management plan permit application that would allow Rocky Ridge to dispose of the spent lime sludge directly into the quarry pit.