An Ohio EPA public hearing on the water quality impacts of expanded mining operations north of Yellow Springs will take place Thursday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. at Greenon High School. Pictured here are "No Quarry” yard signs created by an area group, Citizens Against Mining, which opposes the expansion. (Photo by Audrey Hackett)
Ohio EPA public hearing on quarry concerns set for Feb. 1
- Published: January 23, 2018
Officials from Ohio EPA are coming to Greenon High School, just north of Yellow Springs, on Thursday, Feb. 1, to hear citizen concerns about the potential impact of new quarry operations on local waterways.
The public hearing begins at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1 at the high school. All concerned citizens are invited to attend. Those wishing to speak will have three minutes each to raise questions or present their concerns about the discharge of wastewater from quarry operations into the Mud Run and Mad River watershed.
Pressure by Citizens Against Mining, or CAM, an area citizen group that opposes the quarry expansion in Mad River Township north of Yellow Springs, helped secure the Ohio EPA hearing.
More information about the hearing, including background on the issues and guidelines for presenting questions and concerns, is available at CAM’s website. The group also maintains an active Facebook page.
The planned new mining operations could impact a 400-acre area mostly north of Fairfield Road along South Tecumseh Road in Mad River Township. In July, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, or ODNR, granted mining permits to Enon Sand and Gravel. Those permits, which allow for deeper and more extensive mining, are being challenged by citizens and the county on the state level and in Ohio district court. The company recently applied to the EPA for permits to discharge wastewater from future mining operations into the Mud Run and other waters, ultimately triggering the public hearing. No mining has yet begun.
The News has covered the issue in two previous articles, here and here.
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