Perrysburg Township officials disappointed with mining permit
9/4/2014Perrysburg Township officials said Wednesday they are disappointed the state has granted a mining permit for a township landscaping business.
Township trustees said they’ve learned the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has approved a mining permit this week for Wylie and Sons Landscaping LLC at 27226 Glenwood Rd.
“That isn’t what I wanted to hear,” Trustee Gary Britten said at Wednesday’s meeting.“Nothing can be done about it, which is what we were afraid of.”
Township Administrator Walt Celley formally objected to the application when the company submitted it in July, 2013. He sent a letter to the ODNR, saying he was concerned the mining work would create too much wear and tear on the road. He also is concerned the mining project won’t include reclamation of the land.
Wylie and Sons Landscaping applied for permission to mine 800 tons of topsoil, 6,000 tons of clay, and 100,000 tons of limestone from the site annually. In total, the company would mine 12,000 tons of topsoil, 90,000 tons of clay, and 1.5 million tons of limestone.
The drilling will be 15 to 20 feet deep in holes 4 to 8 feet wide. All of the 14.7 acres on the site will be affected.
In addition to Mr. Celley’s objection, about 30 neighbors of Wylie and Sons Landscaping who oppose the mining plan attended a public hearing in September, 2013 hoping for the application to be rejected. They said the company was a “bad neighbor” that made too much noise and disturbed residents with its trucks.
Tom Wylie, company owner, wasn’t at Wednesday meeting and could not be reached for comment Wednesday night, but he has previously said if someone has an issue with the business they need to address it to him. He has told his truck drivers to pull out north on Glenwood Road because they will disturb fewer residents driving that direction.
David Crow, ODNR deputy chief said last year he couldn’t decide whether to approve the permit based on complaints that Wylie and Sons is a bad neighbor. He did say residents could appeal the permit in courts though.
“We put a lot of resources into fighting this application,” Mr. Celley said Wednesday.
Contact Matt Thompson at: mthompson@theblade.com, 419-356-8786, or on Twitter at @mthompson25.