A crowd of about 40 Claridon Township residents spoke Feb. 16 for and against an application from Covia Corp. to extend its Best Sand strip mining operation farther east from its current location in Munson Township along state Route 44 into Claridon Township.
A crowd of about 40 Claridon Township residents spoke Feb. 16 for and against an application from Covia Corp. to extend its Best Sand strip mining operation farther east from its current location in Munson Township along state Route 44 into Claridon Township.
Claridon Township Trustees dedicated more than an hour of their regular meeting to allow visitors to voice their concerns, opinions and questions. However, Trustee Eric Brindo made it clear the application was denied two weeks earlier and Covia representatives were present only to share information.
“Earlier this month, on Feb. 2, the board voted not to include mining on more acres,” he said. “This meeting is not a negotiation.”
In 2015, a previous board of trustees approved a consent judgment entry agreement with Best Sand, now Covia, allowing surface mining on about 62 acres in Claridon Township east of Route 44 on a 77.5-acre parcel leased from Spencer-Lotusdale Farm LLC.
The recently-denied application proposed swapping the current 62 acres on the west side of the parcel for 72 acres running from Route 44 into Claridon Township to just behind homes on Aquilla Road. It would have allowed Covia to avoid wetlands on the northwest corner of the property, according to a map distributed at the meeting.
Brindo welcomed Best Sand Senior Plant Manager Jayson Cutler and Director of Environmental Natalie Eglinton, who explained the company’s reasons for the proposal and answered residents’ questions.
Expansion Plans
Several attendees complained about impacts to their properties from Covia’s blasting of the sandstone, citing cracked plaster and water well problems, despite Cutler’s assurance the blasting is monitored by the state and is well below allowable standards.
“We get audited, have unannounced inspections. We haven’t had any outliers,” he said, adding the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency found no problems during an inspection last year.
He also said Covia conducted a third-party hydrology study in 2018 of every well within 10 miles of the mine so the company knows well depths, adding the mine will not be deep enough to affect the water table.
Another hydrology study was completed recently, but Cutler said he could not release it until it is reviewed by Covia’s legal team.
Eglinton said water quality at the mine site is heavily regulated by the state and tested monthly. Covia recycles 90% of the water it uses to process sand and gravel, she said, then explained why the company wants to expand eastward.
Covia needs the proposed parcel because of the area’s unique geology, she said, adding customers want to continue receiving consistent materials.
Covia does not plan to mine into wetlands on the northwest corner of the property, Cutler said, noting the wetlands supply the Cuyahoga River.
When asked why wetlands were not considered when the consent judgment entry agreement was approved in 2015, Eglinton said her best guess is Covia was not ready to mine that parcel at the time and did not conduct wetlands studies until later.
Without access to the wetlands area, Covia would have significantly less land available for mining on the east side of Route 44.
Residents’ Concerns
Township Road Supervisor Joe Stenger asked whether Covia considered the mining operation’s impact on property values and how that would affect residents during the company’s 30-year lease period.
Eglinton said if property values have been affected, those impacts likely already occurred.
Brindo noted if Covia mined the proposed area, about 500 feet from Aquilla Road, it would be within 1,000 feet of approximately 70 or 80 residences in Aquilla Village.
Aquilla Road resident Anne Clauser said she has cracks in her 200-year-old house, but her main concern is future water availability for wells tapping the aquifer and streams flowing into Lake Aquilla.
“The aquifer is really, really important to people who live around here,” she said. “You can’t fix an aquifer. When it’s ruined, it’s ruined.”
Grace Butcher, also of Aquilla Road, said she is disturbed by the “noise of big metal on big metal,” backup alarms and strobe lights at night, and is concerned about her well.
“How do we prove to you, when our well goes bad, it was your fault? Just call you up and tell you? I don’t think so,” she said.
Eglinton provided email addresses for herself and Cutler.
“We will absolutely look into every single call,” she said.
Cole Family Speaks
Tom Cole, speaking for Spencer-Lotusdale Farm LLC, said he and other family members farm many acres and leased the 77-acre parcel to Covia.
Covia is required to reclaim mined land as a lake, as it did on the west side of Route 44.
“The land eventually comes back to us,” he said. “The township is not just where we own land — it’s our home. This is what we needed to do to survive.”
The family chose leasing over selling the land, said Lynn Cole.
“If this was about money, we’d have gone a different route,” she said.
Joyce Cole said the family hopes to preserve the land while practicing conservation and regenerative agriculture.
“As a family, this is kind of our last ditch effort to preserve the land,” she said.
Aquilla Road resident Sam Cole said he has been involved in discussions about the property’s future.
“Covia’s a good company — very open,” he said. “The family has been here forever. It’s a big step for everyone to think about the future. I’d like to maintain the farm, keep it a farm.”
Brian Bates, of ARMS Trucking in Claridon, said his company hauled 9,000 loads of material from the Covia operation last year.
“That’s a big part of our business. Covia’s always been a very good partner to the community,” he said, noting Covia donates to many Geauga County nonprofits.
Claridon Township Comments
Township resident and Zoning Inspector Chris Alusheff said he appreciated the information Covia provided and asked representatives to share the current hydrology study once it is vetted.
“This board is not attempting to nix the consent judgment entry from 2015. We can’t do anything about it,” said Trustee Jonathan Tiber, adding trustees are not interested in Covia’s proposal.
“This is not a negotiation on trading,” he said.
Tiber also said township property tax revenue is determined by land valuation, not by material sales from Covia or ARMS Trucking.
In a Feb. 17 phone interview, Tiber added he has doubts about the company’s reporting process and confirmed Covia likely has not mined far east of the township line it shares with Munson Township.
