Man indicted over disposal of hazardous waste
4/15/2005The owner of a defunct Sylvania Township metal plating business has been indicted by a Lucas County grand jury for disposing of hazardous waste at the company's former location on King Road.
Glenn A. Metts, 47, of 8753 Royal Oak Drive, Springfield Township, was indicted on two felony counts of illegal storage of hazardous waste and one count of criminal endangering, a misdemeanor.
Mr. Metts was the owner and president of Ohio Surface Technologies, which made metallic coatings for automotive components in a leased building at 3618 King, near the west entrance to the University-Parks Recreation Trail.
After the business closed in October, 2003, the owner of the property discovered 55-gallon drums and other containers of corrosive and toxic material inside, Sylvania Township Deputy Fire Chief Tom Eisel said.
"I would guess there were 75 to 100 drums of oxidizers, poisons, combustibles, and some containers labeled with hazardous waste placards," Chief Eisel said. "This was bigger than we could handle."
The fire department reported the matter to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which began an investigation.
Dina Pierce, an EPA spokesman, said the area in the building was isolated to prevent the waste from being tampered with or spilled. "It turns out it was sludge from plating operations, mostly nickel and chromium," she said.
A Canton contractor was hired to remove the waste and clean up the contaminated area. Ms. Pierce said the contractor was expected to begin working in the building within a month. She said the owner of the property will pay for the cost of the cleanup.
Mr. Metts could not be reached for comment.
A January, 1998, article in The Blade reported that Sylvania Township trustees gave a tax break to Mr. Metts when he opened the facility in the long-abandoned building.
Under an enterprise zone tax agreement, Mr. Metts was exempted from paying 60 per cent of the firm's taxes on inventory and new equipment. He said at that time he hoped to employ 35 people by the end of 1998, and could possibly add up to 95 more in three years.