St. Albans Township asphalt plant proposal gets Ohio EPA air permit, draws ire from locals

Months after the Licking County Licking County Planning Commission dealt a major blow to a proposed asphalt plant in St. Albans Township, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has given the project new life.

The Ohio EPA on July 10 approved an air permit for the plant proposed by Shelly Materials and Scioto Materials, affiliates of The Shelly Co., on St. Albans' Tharp Road, just outside the Alexandria.

Residents and officials in St. Albans, Alexandria and Granville have pushed back against the proposed plant since last spring over water and air pollution concerns . If it develops, the plant would be in the Raccoon Creek flood plain. Granville draws its drinking water from an aquifer that is recharged by Raccoon Creek. That water serves Granville's residents as well as Alexandria, which buys water from its eastern neighbor.

The proposed plant is considered a minor source of air pollution under the federal Clean Air Act, which means the emissions are not expected to exceed air quality standards, EPA spokesperson Dina Pierce said in an email.

"Ohio EPA carefully reviewed and considered all comments received during the public comment period. Because the facility fell within the scope of everything we as Ohio EPA look at and consider in terms of the environment and public health, Ohio EPA legally must approve the permit," Pierce wrote.

For the permit, the company has 18 months "to start construction or enter into a binding contract to build the plant." The deadline can be extended once by 12 months, if it applies for an extension within a reasonable time before the 18-month period has ended and it can show good cause for an extension, Pierce wrote.

Alexandria Mayor Sean Barnes called the approval disappointing. Community members hoped the EPA would be a stop-gap between bad actors and the environment, but ultimately the agency was limited in what it could do, he said.

"I think the hope is that the EPA looks at each situation and judges sort of the the community and location and makes a decision based off of the unique environment where this location may be, but it's disappointing because they don't do that," he said. "The reality is they're sort of tasked with just making sure that the industry standard is met."

Barnes said residents described the permit approval as a "gut punch."

"People are feeling down because there's so much going on in Licking County — and especially in our area — that people just feel like they're getting run over and that there's almost too much going on to be able to position yourself to deal with it all," he said. "And a community like ours, which is part-time government in the village, it's relying on mainly the efforts of individual citizens, it can feel really overwhelming."

But Barnes said residents have learned so much through the grassroots effort to push back against this plant — as well as a second one that was proposed for the north side of the village — that they were prepared for the permit approval and will keep pushing back as they work in the community's best interest. Because of that, he said community members are informed enough to know that this permit approval isn't the end, and they are formulating their next move as they continue advocating for the community.

Granville Village Manager Herb Koehler said the village was under the impression Scioto Asphalt Materials pulled its original permit application and was surprised when Ohio EPA issued the permit earlier this month.

He added the village does have appeal rights and intends to do so within the 30-day window.

This permit is also just one step in the process. In February 2023, Ohio EPA issued a general stormwater permit for stormwater discharges from the plant. But based on public comments and further review, the agency recommended more stormwater controls and best management practices to minimize any potential spills, leaks or material runoff, through a "multi-sector general permit." That permit is designed to control stormwater discharges from a variety of industrial activities, including asphalt paving and roofing materials facilities, Pierce wrote in an email.

And in Licking County, the plant still faces hurdles. In November, the Licking County Planning Commission unanimously rejected an appeal by Shelly Materials and Scioto Materials for a permit to develop and operate concrete- and asphalt-mixing facilities in the Raccoon Creek flood plain.

Shelly Materials and Scioto Materials appealed that decision to Licking County Common Pleas Court, and the case remains ongoing.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: St. Albans Township asphalt plant proposal gets Ohio EPA air permit, draws ire from locals