TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The South Toledo mining operation was halted after company and city leaders discovered it was improperly working in a residentially-zoned area.
13 Action News has since learned that Rocky Ridge Development LLC, the company that was mining there for years, was ordered to return all of the resources dug out from the property.
It wasn’t explicitly written in the notice
An emergency zoning violation notice was issued on July 16 to Ed Moore, the managing director of Rocky Ridge. The Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commission wrote that mining and all related activities were not permitted at the three properties the company was operating on: 3920 Angola Road, 4004 Angola Road, and 0 S. Byrne Road.
On Sept. 15, another emergency zoning violation notice was issued related to that last property, 0 S. Byrne Road. A separate company, Emkott Ltd, was also found to be in violation of mining in a residentially zoned property.
Only this notice contained a new line that was not on Rocky Ridge’s mining-related violation: “All minerals or aggregate resources removed from the property must be returned.”
A representative from the Plan Commission told 13 Action News that the line was not explicitly written on Rocky Ridge’s notice, but it was implied.
Where did the mined materials go?
Returning the materials may not be that easy for Rocky Ridge.
Managing member Charles Stansley previously told 13 Action News in July that the company was giving the mined materials away.
“Excavating material for use on construction sites, primarily for the city of Toledo and Lucas County,” Stansley said. “And other contractors use the material.”
Stansley said the bulk of the material was going to a contractor building a new Lucas County recycling facility.
An agreement between Rocky Ridge Development LLC and Gradel Co. noted that Rocky Ridge “has agreed to supply Gradel with all clay, fill and dirt from 4004 Angola that Gradel requires to complete construction.”
The parties agreed to negotiate an undisclosed price for the dirt and clay.
Can that dirt be returned?
A Lucas County Sanitary Engineer told 13 Action News in an email that any dirt that came from the mine is now buried.
“This dirt has been used to remediate or cap the existing landfill so that a Material Recovery Facility could be built on the site,“ wrote Nathaniel Inkrott, P.E. ”It is unlikely that this dirt will be or can be returned to the original site as it has now been covered with dirt from the other site.”
Because Rocky Ridge was ordered to stop mining, contractors had to find a new source of dirt. That delayed the county’s project for two months, and the new dirt is sitting on top of the mine dirt, according to Inkrott.
A Lucas County Plan Commission representative confirmed that Rocky Ridge does not have to return the literal exact materials that were removed from the mine, but the company would have to replace it with comparable materials.
Rocky Ridge Development LLC takes the matter to court
On Oct. 16, Rocky Ridge filed a court appeal to reverse a decision by the Toledo Board of Zoning Appeals that upheld the emergency zoning violation.
It’s unclear how this will impact the order to return all mined resources.
Back to 0 S. Byrne
A representative from the Plan Commission noted that the emergency zoning violation issued to Emkott Ltd was not related to Rocky Ridge’s mining operation.
The commission is working with Emkott to resolve the notice.
13 Action News reached out to Emkott for comment and a representative said they would get in contact later in the week.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-10-21 22:58:00
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