Eaton Township residents to see Ross monofill rezoning referendum on March ballot

Eaton Township voters will see a referendum on the March 19 primary ballot, the next step in a battle between residents and Ross Environmental Services over a zoning change that would allow the company to build a controversial monofill on property it owns in the township. A group calling itself "Stop Toxic Spread" collected 746 signatures to put the referendum before Eaton Township voters, and filed it with the Lorain County Board of Elections. The referendum seeks to "approve or reject change to heavy industrial" zoning in the township following an Oct. 4 vote by the Eaton Township Board of Trustees to rezone 65 acres of land on Giles Road to heavy industrial at the request of Ross, according to language in the signature petitions. "Ross is supportive of the process and encourages all voters to exercise their rights on election day," the company said in a statement Monday when asked to comment on the referendum. "Ross encourages the voters of Eaton Township to thoroughly vet the information they are presented on their own and listen to both sides." Ross, which has operated in the township since the late 1940s, requested a zoning change from the "light industrial" designation to "heavy industrial" for a portion of its property so it can build a monofill — a landfill containing only one product — for ash created as a byproduct of its incinerator operations. The Board of Trustees approved the change, with modification, after a series of well-attended and contentious hearings earlier this year. Ross' original request was reduced to a smaller parcel. Trustee Steve Franks was the lone "no" vote in the 2-1 vote on Oct. 4. Trustees Matt Hignett and Jason Monschein voted "yes" on the proposed change. Franks said he was concerned about the real estate and property values in the township, even as he defended Ross and its owners, the Cromling family. The township would have "thousands of more homes" if Ross had not bought up land in Eaton Township for business use and hunting, Franks said Oct. 4. Opponents claim Ross is polluting the township. They contended the company planned to bury hazardous waste ash that could cause environmental damage and health and safety problems in the future. Stop Toxic Spread claimed the ash Ross wants to bury would contain heavy metals like cadmium and lead. Ross has countered that the ash is "inert" and that for safety, it mixes the ash with other materials and buries it under a cover to prevent it from leaching into the soil. The liner underneath the ash should last 400 years, the company said, but Stop Toxic Spread disputed that claim, citing a statement by the EPA that no liner is guaranteed to stay intact. Through its attorney, Gerald Phillips, Stop Toxic Spread also filed an appeal with the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission on Dec. 11 to try and prevent Ross from getting final permission for additional storage volume on its property. The appeal asked the Ohio ERAC to rescind a modification of Ross' permit to operate as a hazardous waste facility. In a statement sent to The Chronicle-Telegram, Phillips wrote that there was a lack of "due diligence for the health, safety and welfare of the community, neighborhoods and within proximity of the Ross site." State emergency planners and the Lorain County Emergency Management Agency had "no knowledge of hazardous materials being stored on the Ross site" and there is a gas pipeline there that could be a hazard as well, Phillips claimed. "Inventory and storage of hazardous (waste) is excessive based on production principles of good inventory and storage management principles to minimize the risks with a major massive or catastrophic event, i.e. an East Palestine event," he wrote in opposition to Ross' request for a modification of its permit. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.