SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — The township’s Zoning Hearing Board on Monday scheduled a vote on whether to grant Heilman Pavement Specialties a special exception for a proposed cold-mix asphalt plant.

The vote will be at 10 a.m. on March 7. The special exception was granted Jan. 13, 2021, but residents filed suit to reverse the decision in July of that year.

On Monday, the board heard from witnesses who oppose the proposed plant at a hearing for the company.

The zoning of the proposed plant property at 490 Stoughton Road was changed from rural conservation to light industry at a hearing Nov. 22, 2021. Attorneys for HEI-Way, which is associated with Heilman, defended their application for a special exception of heavy industry in the light industry zone.

The property for the proposed site is 660 feet from Slippery Rock Creek. Many residents expressed concern about potential effects of harmful pollution and emissions from the plant.

Attorney John Smith, who represents residents opposed to the plant, called five witnesses Monday to discuss the effects the potential plant could have on nearby property owners.

Residents Paul Boas, Christopher Coleman and Marcia E. Carnahan testified to living downstream from the property and were concerned about odors, air and water pollution and noise that could come from the plant.

At previous hearings, it was said that the proposed plant could run similarly to HEI-Way’s plant in Sarver, also owned by Heilman Pavement Specialties. All three witnesses said they observed the HEI-Way plant in Sarver when they heard a plant could be built near their properties.

Boas said as he was driving past the Sarver plant, he could smell tar, and there were piles of asphalt near the road. He said multiple trucks came and left the property in the 15 minutes he was there, confirming his suspicion of road noise.

“I don’t know who could live with that smell. It smells because it’s emitting things into the air,” Boas said.

Boas and Coleman said in their separate trips they took photos of the Sarver site. Both testified they were standing on a road adjacent to the property when they were approached by employees of the Sarver plant and asked to leave.

Coleman showed the board pictures and video of the site’s stockpiles and the tire tracks that went through a residue from around the piles. He said he was asked to leave the property by two individuals.

“One said ‘Why don’t you get the (expletive) off my property?,” Coleman said. “Another individual came to tell me to get the (expletive) off the property, even though I was on the road.”

Coleman also said part of the proposed property is zoned for residential use, and he was concerned about the volume of traffic being dragged through stockpile residue and off the property.

Boas noted that one of the applicant’s witnesses testified at the previous hearing that runoff from stockpiles on the proposed site would run into Slippery Rock Creek.

“I couldn’t see how that was appropriate,” Boas said. “The applicant didn’t know what the chemical content would be that’d go into the creek.”

Carnahan said her home is 100 feet from the site, and she is concerned with noise and odors from the proposed site. Carnahan visited the Sarver site with her husband on three occasions, and with the windows of their vehicle up and they still could smell asphalt.

Carnahan presented notes Monday from doctors regarding her and her husband’s pre-existing medical conditions that could be worsened by emissions from the proposed plant.

“Breathing it in, that is going to affect our lungs,” Carnahan said.

Carnahan also presented a petition with approximately 700 signatures of those opposed to the plant with to the board.

Smith had two experts called to the stand, hydrogeologist and geologist Daniel Fisher and Slippery Rock University professor Robert Livingston, who specializes in geography.

Fisher said he understood the experts did no testing to prove their points about pollutants.

“It was never discussed what may leech from the (asphalt) piles sitting there,” Fisher said. “A pile mound has water in it. It will be bound in the middle and escape around the side. The chemical equilibrium (of the water) will be equal with the pile over time.”

Fisher also said that HEI-Way testified that diesel fuel in the products could dissolve in the water on the property.

Livingston said based on his evaluation of the company’s expert’s reports of noise and soil content, it was clear HEI-Way didn’t come close to reaching a level of scientific certainty that the plant wouldn’t cause harm to the environment.

“No reasonable scientist would say they’ve met the qualifications without numbers and qualified data,” Livingston said.

During public comment, numerous residents stood to protest the plant, saying Slippery Rock Creek often is used for recreation by those outside the community. Multiple residents also noted that although R.W. Sidley, a ready-mix asphalt plant, and a salvage yard reside near the creek, they don’t want additional noise and pollution in the neighborhood.

During closing remarks, Smith said that when the company’s owner was asked about the composition of its asphalt, he responded that it was proprietary. However, the information could be found online.

“The applicant didn’t tell you a lot of information that they said was proprietary, which it wasn’t,” Smith said. “The applicant tried to move this forward quickly to make you think they complied (with standards), but they didn’t.”

In closing remarks, Joe Charlton, HEI-Way’s attorney, said the company was only trying to prove that the proposed plant wouldn’t create great harm to the surrounding area.

“We presented evidence that this would not create greater harm than other asphalt plants,” Charlton said. “The applicant has proven the items they need to prove to meet the special exception.”

Coleman said he thought the hearing went well.

“Our side showed (HEI-Way) is not able to meet the standards they’re being held to,” he said. “This is not the time to be throwing science out the window.”

Charlton declined the opportunity to comment on the hearing.

If Heilman Pavement Specialties or the opposed residents are dissatisfied with the board’s decision on March 7, either party can go through the appeals process to take the case to common law court at the Butler County level.