COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Residents in a row of Colerain Township homes have been living in the shadow of a pile of dirt moved a few feet from their backyards since late last year.
Steve Schebeli said he's watched the pile grow since December as construction on the new Wawa on Colerain Avenue got underway.
We walked through Schnebeli's backyard Monday as he described the problems the mound has caused him.
"Can you imagine that out your back door?" he said.
WATCH: We talk with Steve about the problems construction has caused him
Schebeli showed us pictures dating back to December of the dirt pile growing to dozens of feet, showing the drainage issues it's caused, forcing muddy water through his yard into the street and covering his neighbor's pool and told us the trench dug to divert water damaged tree roots on his property line.
He said he wanted to talk to WCPO because he feels his concerns have largely fallen on deaf ears when he's gone to Wawa, Colerain Township or Hamilton County.
"That's not supposed to be there," he said of the hill.
Schnebeli spoke in public comment at the May 20 Colerain Township Zoning Board meeting, asking who had the authority to solve his problems and why it had been allowed to rise too high.
At that meeting, Development Director David Miller said the Hamilton County Conservation District was responsible for approval of earthen mounds after the zoning board approved the project's preliminary and final development plans.
"It's in their regulatory purview at that time. It's not in our jurisdiction," Miller said. "So, all that has been transferred to them. They've approved it. They're out there monitoring it on a regular basis."
Miller said the township had no power to get the mound moved.
"It's going to stay there," he said.
Wawa didn't respond after we reached out on Monday.
A Colerain Township representative said it was too late to get someone to comment on the pile immediately, but we were welcome to speak to city administrators around Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting.
"Nobody is taking responsibility," Schnebeli said. "Everyone is passing the buck."
Members of the Hamilton County Conservation District spoke with WCPO Tuesday afternoon, saying they were responsible for the approval of a stormwater pollution prevention plan and ensuring they met the county's standards for geotechnical requirements.
Urban Conservationist Chey Alberto said they had checked all the boxes as far as the county was concerned.
Urban Technitian Jim Gleason told us he'd met with Schnebeli to address his concerns about the runoff onto his and nearby properties.
Gleason said the muddy water flows were due to "contractor error" that impeded the flow of water into drains near the Raeann Drive properties. He said the issue had since been corrected, though Schnebeli wasn't happy with the fix when we visited Monday.
Alberto said the developer will need to ensure the site is stabilized with vegetation, and a geotechnical engineer will have to ensure the site is regularly tested and still up to county standards before they can give final approval to the project.
He said that final approval should come soon after construction is complete.
