Politics & Government

Ohio EPA Report Discusses Impact of Former Salt Mine on Mentor Marsh

Report says that former salt mine could present an ecological risk to Blackbrook Creek and Mentor Marsh "due to continued leaching of ground water"

A recent report from the Ohio EPA assesses the risk that a former salt mine in Mentor may present to the environment, especially Blackbrook Creek and nearby .

However, to explain the report, some back story is necessary.

In 1965, Jerome Osborne bought land located on the northeast corner of Lakeshore Boulevard and Heisley Road.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The next year, Osborne started disposing salt mine tailings from the nearby Morton Salt Company in and on the banks of Blackbrook Creek, which flowed directly into Mentor Marsh, according to the report. An estimated 265,000 tons of tailings were disposed in the landfill.

In the 1970s, the Ohio EPA and Lake County General Health District reached an agreement with Osborne to stop disposing tailings in the landfill because it threatened the marsh's ecology.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Over the years, property owners have used different materials including fly ash, lime kiln dust and clay, to prevent the landfill from contaminating Blackbrook Creek and the marsh.

The U.S. EPA funded a study in 2007 to assess the extent of the former landfill's affect on the environment as part of a targeted brownfield assessment. It recently released the study's results.

The good news: "Ohio EPA determined it is unlikely that the landfill poses a risk to neighborhood residents and others visiting the landfill," according to the report.

But that doesn't mean the landfill has no impact on the environment.

"An ecological risk to Blackbrook Creek and Mentor Marsh does exist due to continued leaching of ground water containing elevated levels of calcium, potassium, sodium and total dissolved solids," the report said.

"The next major task will most likely be a feasibility study to determine the best way to (clean up) the property,” Ohio EPA spokesman Mike Settles told The News-Herald.

A copy of a fact sheet regarding the Ohio EPA report is attached to this story as a PDF.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Mentor