Wednesday, June 23, 1999
Wastewater site raises stink
Residents cry foul over plan
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT WRIGHT — Kelly Elementary School pupils rode to the Sanitation District No.1 office Tuesday on a big, yellow school bus.
Along with more than 150 other protesters, they demanded the sanitation board reconsider its decision to locate a wastewater treatment plant near the Boone County school in the Belleview area.
They didn't get the answer they wanted.
“Unless we find a reason it shouldn't be there, I don't see the board reconsidering,” said Richard Kennedy, board president.
Protesters jammed into the sanitation district's small meeting room and would not leave until board members agreed to move the meeting outside to accommodate the crowd.
During the hourlong con frontation, the group yelled questions and accusations at board members and Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore over what they say was an unfair decision.
Many in the group said they were concerned about the health of the 360 children who attend Kelly, which is less than two miles from the site.
“My interest is in Kelly kids,” said Alice Ryle, a substitute teacher at the elementary school who helped organize the protest. “Our playground is less than 50 feet from the riverbank.”
The site is north of Belleview, between the Ohio River and Ky. 20 — about 1ô miles north of Burlington Pike.
The new plant could be on one or more adjoining parcels owned by three families. The sanitation district wants about 100 acres.
Officials tried to answer the most commonly asked questions of residents. One they say, is whether the plant location would impact the county's comprehensive plan.
“This plant site does not,” said Jeff Eger, executive director of the sanitation district.
Residents also wanted to know whether the plant would have an adverse impact on air quality or generate offensive odors.
“The western regional plant will be one of the first facilities in the Tristate area to incorporate odor control technologies into the initial plant design,” Mr. Eger said. “As proof of the district's commitment to address the issue, a nationally recognized odor-control expert has been hired to assist in the design of the facility.”
Another concern of residents is whether the underground aquifer would be contaminated.
“Now that the treatment plant site has been selected, we will conduct a series of studies to further evaluate the suitability of the site for construction of the plant,” Mr. Eger said.
A new sewage treatment plant must be built because the Dry Creek plant in Villa Hills — which treats waste from Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties — will be at capacity by 2003.
District officials say it is not financially feasible to enlarge the Dry Creek facility.
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