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Residents speak out against limestone mining permit

MAD RIVER TWP. — Residents packed Greenon Junior/Senior High School cafeteria Thursday night, the majority in opposition to a permit that would allow a company to blast for limestone.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held a public meeting to hear from concerned homeowners about Enon Sand and Gravel's mining permit request.

Mad River Twp. Trustee Vice President Kathy Estep spoke on behalf of the local trustees -- and many in attendance -- and said the township does not approve of the additional mining.

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“If approved, this will diminish and harm our water resources,” Estep said. “We ask (this permit) be denied.”

Enon Sand and Gravel applied to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management in November 2016 to mine limestone and to merge two existing permits into one.

“This permit would give a company permission to pollute the water, and Mad River doesn't need any more pollution,” resident Kyle Peterson said.

State Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, also spoke against the permit.

“We have the people in this room who have combined invested millions of dollars into their homes and their property,” Koehler said.

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If the permit is approved, he said, the residents of the future will have to deal with major problems.

“I have not had one constituant come and tell me they want this quarry,” Koehler said. “I have had hundreds and hundreds come and tell me they do not want this quarry.”

Other officials who spoke Thursday night were Clark County Commissioner Rick Lohnes and Enon representative Tim Howard. They both said they are against the permit.

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Other concerns raised included the effects on wells on private property, flooding, wildlife, sound and dust.

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