Slippery Rock Township's zoning hearing board voted Monday to uphold the change of the zoning classification for a property owned by Heilman Pavement Specialties from rural conservation to light industry and to investigate a special exception for a heavy industry business under the new classification.

A large crowd of concerned community members, some holding signs saying “Save Slippery Rock Creek,” attended the two hearings at the Slippery Rock Township Community Building, which jointly spanned more than six hours. They expressed concerns that the plant would bring harmful pollution, emissions and disruptive noise to surrounding properties, particularly the nearby creek, located 660 feet from the tree line on the property.

According to previous reports, the property at 490 Stoughton Road is intended to be a cold-mix asphalt plant for Hei-Way, which is associated with Heilman Pavement Specialties.

During the noon hearing, the board voted to deny the substantive validity challenge presented by community members. The challenge, filed on behalf of residents Marcia E. Carnahan, Donald M. Carnahan, Paul Boas and Christopher Coleman, argued against the township's action to change the zoning classification of the property. This hearing was continued from Oct. 27.

'It's not over'

At the first hearing's conclusion, a hearing for a special exception application for Heilman Pavement Specialities commenced, but was ultimately continued to Dec. 15. This hearing will determine if the township will allow a special exception for heavy industry in a light industrial zoning district.

“Now it's a question of whether an exception will be made,” said Robin Martin, Allegheny County organizer for Food and Water Watch, “It's not over.”

Alan Shaddinger, zoning board solicitor, reminded attendees that the formal application for special exemption under the zoning ordinance came in October 2020, and the first hearing was held in January 2021.

The attorney representing Heilman Pavement, Joe Charlton, brought in six witnesses to address the questions of fire safety, air pollution, erosion control, disruptive noise, storm water and potential environmental concerns.

John Smith, the attorney who argued against the exemption, cross-examined witnesses — some for more than an hour. He also motioned to strike multiple witnesses on the grounds that they were not experts in their field and did not present data reports on their findings.

The lack of statistics to support the claims also upset Coleman and other some other community members.

“We weren't given reports,” Coleman said following the meeting. “If you're doing scientific studies, you have to give out scientific reports. You heard multiple times through their testimonies that they weren't qualified.”

Applicant testimonies

Elias Heilman, vice president and owner of Hei-Way, was extensively questioned on the logistics of the potential plant and its products. In his testimony, he compared the proposed Slippery Rock cold-mix plant to the firm's asphalt plant in Sarver. He said there would be 35 to 40 production days for the proposed location with 50,000 tons of product as their goal. When questioned, Heilman said he was not aware of harmful emissions from their products or the effects of dust that comes off of the limestone used in their asphalt.

Charlton also questioned Scott Foreman, the senior project manager responsible for the plant's conceptual planning; Gabe Gehgnio an electrician; Michael Greiser, municipal fire marshall; Joseph Pezze, an environmental consultant; and Robert Orchowski, who spoke to potential noise and water quality.

In his testimony, Foreman said his blueprints included a detention pond to catch stormwater coming from the potential asphalt plant. When asked if runoff could affect ground water and eventually run into Slippery Rock Creek, he said he did not know.

During Orchowski's testimony, he said results of stormwater and groundwater tests on the Sarver property, results listed nickel and lead percentages that would not be harmful to the environment or community.

Pezze, who was brought in for his professional opinion on emissions, said he did not believe they would be an issue for surrounding properties.

Smith pushed back, expressing concerns over possible emissions from stockpiles of asphalt that may amass on the property.

Reconvening in December

After witness testimony, the board decided to reconvene at 10 a.m. Dec. 15 at the Slippery Rock Township Community Building, 155 Branchton Road.

Coleman said he was concerned about the earlier start time making it difficult for residents to attend.

“They're not doing anything to accommodate citizens,” Coleman said. “If we had a later appointment, we'd have double the (community) support. We don't plan on backing away from this issue.”