A Hamilton County Judge could decide as early as this week whether a plan by Evans Landscaping to clean up illegal dumping is following health standards or whether he should be held in contempt.
Our news partner WCPO reports Ohio Assistant Attorney General Allen Vender filed a motion Sept. 13 in Hamilton County Court saying, “Evans’ procrastination in removing the illegally buried debris continues to pose a significant threat to human health and the environment.”
Of special concern is Evans’ Broadwell site in Newtown. The court filing says, “The Broadwell site’s illegal landfill is located over a sole-source aquifer that provides drinking water to over a million people in Southwest Ohio. It’s also near the Little Miami River.”
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WCPO quotes Earth Justice Senior Attorney Thom Cmar, who reviewed the ground testing reports, as saying “Arsenic was shown in some samples as high as five to 10 times over the drinking water standards, so unsafe for any human consumption. Drinking water with high levels of arsenic would be a serious health concern.”
Cmar believes arsenic is leaching from buried construction waste, particularly treated wood.
The Ohio EPA and Hamilton Public Health told WCPO there is no known immediate concern to public health or the environment.
Doug Evans, who served jail time for minority contracting fraud, is under court order to clean up three sites: Broadwell, Mt. Carmel and 4229 Roundbottom Road.
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“We’re done playing around," Attorney General Dave Yost told WCPO. "He’s under a court order to clean it up. He’s thumbed his nose at the entire process.”
Yost wants Evans in jail for 30 days to force him to comply with the court order he signed a year ago.
However, Evans told WCPO what health officials are demanding is unreasonable and could cost him more than $600,000 to haul what he considers clean fill, and not illegal construction debris.
“The agencies refused to approve Evans’ Landscaping proposed plan and imposed its own plan that is unworkable in the field,” he says.
Evans wants Judge Jodie Luebbers to approve his clean-up plan.
