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Chardon Trustees balk at salt shed safeguards
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - October 13, 2011)
Chardon Trustees balk at salt shed safeguards
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon Township Trustees are showing reluctance to implement additional safeguards for a state-mandated new salt shed.
"It says there we don't have to do it, right there in their letter," Trustee Charles Strazinsky Jr. said last week, referring to a Sept. 28 letter from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The letter called for the township to provide additional capping of an area of the maintenance yard on Mentor Road, a door to the new salt shed and storm water plan to address runoff.
The township was mandated by the state agency to build a salt shed after the EPA filed a report and notice of violation in February 2010.
The report pointed to the township's practice of mixing salt and cinders on permeable ground as reason for salt contamination in nearby residential water wells. The report identified water wells at nine surrounding homes as having been contaminated with salt. EPA officials said the contamination was one that was of aesthetics, such as odor and tastes, rather than presenting a health risk.
Trustee Chairman Steve Borawski said his interpretation of the letter is that the requested additions are more recommendations than mandates.
"We're working to eliminate it and they have to understand we've been cooperative," he said.
Asphalt was due to be poured this week to cap off much of the ground where the contamination is believed to have occurred. Shortly after the asphalt is laid, a dome structure is expected to be brought to the site and erected. The salt shed is mandated to be in operation before the winter season sets in.
"We're making some good progress here," Mr. Borawski said.
He said the township is already strained financially with the $260,000 cost for the salt shed alone. The township has eliminated road projects for this year and laid off one road worker to be able to afford the project, Mr. Borawski said.
In the Sept. 28 letter, EPA officials took exception to some of the plans for the shed and asked the township to go further.
"A review of the amended design indicates that the building and surrounding pavement will provide a cap over only 75 to 80 percent of the salt-impacted area," the letter states. "C.W. Courtney indicates that 90 percent of the salt-impacted area will be covered if we account for clean fill material that will be brought in to bring the site to grade. However, 'clean fill material' may not prevent runoff from infiltrating through to salt-impacted soils."
The EPA also stated a door should be part of the new building. "Without a door, windblown snow and rain will likely contact operations and materials within the structure, at least within a certain distance of the door," the letter stated. "This can lead to the release of dissolved salts to the environment either due to equipment tracking or improper housekeeping practices to address puddling within the structure."
The letter called on them to follow federal regulations for operations, although not legally bound, which Mr. Strazinsky referred to.
"Although Chardon Township is not automatically subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations regarding discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems, given the documented groundwater contamination from municipal operations, the township could be designated for inclusion in this program by the director of Ohio EPA."
Mr. Borawski said trustees will wait to look at a door for the shed, saying it may not be necessary. "We'll assess it over the winter and see if we end up with a problem or not." He said trustees will take a similar approach with capping the entire area.
He said trustees are going above and beyond some of the requirements, approving $3,200 for outside and inside drains that will allow the township to monitor whether salt is seeping into soils.
Trustees also agreed to seek quotes for the continued monitoring of the residential water wells, as required by the EPA.
"How long do we have to do this?" Mr. Strazinsky asked. "We don't know."
Mr. Borawski said the sampling will allow officials to determine whether the decades-old practice of mixing the salt in cinders in a gravel lot is the source of contamination for the homes.
Mr. Brown said he is not convinced the township is to blame. "I'll put a wager on it," he said.
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