A permit application hasn’t been filed yet but opponents of a proposed limestone surface mining operation off Farrington and Experiment Farm roads north of Troy already are at work.
Signs urging “Stop the Pit” can be seen along roads in the area of the proposed site in Washington Township and Miami County Farm Bureau members last week organized an information meeting at the Troy-Miami County Public Library.
Dale Arnold, director of energy, utility and local government policy at the Ohio Farm Bureau, was on hand to share knowledge on the process used to review and eventually approve or deny a mining project.
Arnold emphasized that neither he nor the state Farm Bureau have a position on the local proposal.
County Farm Bureau members at the meeting, attended by more than 40 people, said they would be working on a policy on the proposal.
Tom Hartzell, who owns land nearby, told meeting attendees to help themselves to the stack of “Stop the Pit” signs he had in his truck in the parking lot.
During his presentation, Arnold said those opposing the project need to do their homework and to realize they have time to collect concrete evidence supporting their position.
A recurring theme through the process will be the need to “prove it,” Arnold said.
“This is not going to be a popularity contest,” he said. “You have to back up your claims with research. You can’t go into a hearing and say, ‘I just don’t like it.’”
Opposition to the proposal first was aired at a Miami County commissioners meeting in late March. Hartzell was one of those speaking.
The commissioners approved a required designation of truck hauling route for the proposed operation by Piqua Materials. The vote on whether the project will be approved locally lies with the county Board of Zoning Appeals.
State law requires the county engineer’s office to make a recommendation to the commissioners on the preferred haul routes for a proposed operation before an application for a conditional use permit is filed with the appeals board.
Arnold said a number of other agencies could be involved in reviews such as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Taxation. Many such cases ultimately end up in court, he said.
The proposed primary truck haul route was outlined by Paul Huelskamp, county engineer, and approved by commissioners March 29.
The primary ingress and egress from the site would be on the west side of Experiment Farm Road, about 650 feet south of Farrington Road. The primary route to and from the proposed site was identified as Experiment Farm Road to Farrington Road to County Road 25A and on to Interstate 75.
Information submitted to the engineer’s office on behalf of Piqua Materials states the proposal is for 93 acres. The mining operation would be for extracting, crushing, screening and stockpiling limestone and related mineral products.