Commissioners go on record against Anderson Township Mine

ANDERSON TWP., Ohio - The Hamilton County Commission made it clear Monday they do not support the building of an underground limestone mine in Anderson Township.

After hearing from representatives of mine opponents at a Monday morning staff hearing on the issue, all three Commissioners said they would oppose allowing Martin Marietta Materials to build two tunnels for the mine underneath a county road that runs through their property.

County Commissioner David Pepper has previously proposed the Commission take a formal vote against allowing the two tunnels to be built. State law requires county commission approval for construction under county roads.

In previous public statements, Martin Marietta officials have indicated not getting tunneling permission might be enough to kill current plans to turn a 480 acre property on Roundbottom Road and Broadwell Road in Anderson Township.

The comittment to formally vote against the Anderson limestone mine project came before several dozen Anderson Township and Newtown residents and officials showed up to show their opposition to the project.

Although representatives for Martin Marietta Materials were expected at the Commissioner meeting, no one showed up, with a lawyer for the mining company declining to appear before the meeting.

Tim Mara, an attorney for an mine opposition group called CABOOM or Citizens Against Blasting Our Miami, asked the Comission members not to become 'enablers' for the mine project by going along with the tunneling request.

Mara cited a number of citizen complaints against the mine proposal, from hundreds of heavy trucks expected daily on rural Anderson Township roads, to the expected vibration and dust from the mining project. He also says area children who wait for school buses along rural roads could be at risk from the expected heavy truck traffic from any mine proposal.

It's not clear if Martin Marietta Materials might alter its mining proposal so it wouldn't need the twin 25-foot diameter tunnels under county roads now that the Commission will not approve. If it changes the project plans, it's expected the proposal would have to go back to the Anderson Township Board of Zoning Appeals to have a new plan approved.

The Zoning Appeals Board narrowly approved the current mining project by a three to two vote last month. Mara's group, CABOOM, is currently appealing that decision in the courts.