ROSSFORD – Caustic liquid leaking from the proposed site of a casino in Toledo – just over the line from
Rossford – is part of an ongoing problem already addressed in agreements between the owner and the EPA.
Acting on an anonymous tip, EPA officials on Sept. 24 found, according to its notice of violation, that a
"dark brown to reddish leachate" was being discharged into the Maumee River from the former
industrial site that has been identified as the location for a casino if the constitutional amendment on
the November ballot passes.
The EPA issued a notice of violation of the property’s owners, River Road Redevelopment of Middletown.
Brad White, president of the company, said this morning that the remedies for the problem are already
addressed in an agreement his company has with the EPA regarding the cleanup of the property. Despite
extensive work on the site, contaminated groundwater "occasionally seeps out" from the site.
That will finally be remedied, he said, when the site is further developed and storm water is channeled
off the land before it can penetrate deep within the ground.
The EPA issued a covenant not to sue to the property early this year. That covenant spells out what the
company has done and needs to do to comply with state environmental law. The covenant does not restrict
the EPA from acting if there are releases deemed hazardous from the site.
Dina Pierce, a spokeswoman for the state EPA, said both state and federal agencies responded to the
report of the runoff. The incident is still under investigation, she said. "We’re working with the
owner to get a resolution."
The site is a former industrial site for Libbey-Owens-Ford, now Pilkington Glass. It is off Ohio 65 just
north of downtown Rossford and adjacent to the I-75 interchange on Miami Street. It was used to deposit
waste products from the manufacture of glass products in "sand ponds" along the river.
White said that the problems are typical of what occurs when trying to redevelop former industrial sites.
White bought the property after another developer, Weston Solutions, bowed out. White worked for Weston
Solutions.
He said he was attracted to the site because it was a rare parcel of waterfront property in the Toledo
area with a prime location near I-75.
While the site has environmental problems, they are fairly limited. "It’s just simply glass in
equilibrium." What leaks out contains metals but is not particularly harmful.
"It’s a matter of controlling it," White said.
White said Penn National Gaming has an option to buy the property contingent on the passage of the
constitutional amendment. If Issue 3 doesn’t pass, White will still own the property, and he said he
will continue to develop it.
Rossford Mayor Bill Verbosky said while he is concerned about the leachate, he is "confident Penn
would do anything they have to do to clean up the site and meet EPA standards."
Eric Schippers, senior vice president for public affairs for Penn National, said that the problem was
characterized as "minor" and was assured that "it will have been fully addressed by the
time we take possession."
