Colerain Township neighbors are sounding off about blasts happening at the Rumpke landfill. Many say their homes shake as expansion over the last few years moves the landfill closer to their neighborhood.

Rumpke’s Controlled Blasting

Rumpke says it’s been using controlled blasts for landfill expansion since the 1980s, in order to loosen up rock so crews can excavate and build new landfill cells. “We do utilize blasting techniques, because other excavation just would not be able to keep up with the demand of the amount of trash that continues to come into the site,” said Rumpke spokesperson Molly Yeager.

In 2019, the Ohio EPA approved a large expansion East of the landfill in Colerain Township. Neighbors say that’s when their issues started to ramp up. “The house shakes, windows rattle,” said neighbor Stephen Shad. “You can feel a rumble coming, like up off the ground here,” said neighbor Marian Foley. “The whole house shakes,” said neighbor Mike Hacker.

Neighbor Concerns

These long-time Colerain neighbors live on Stout Road. Standing on their block, if you look out past the interstate, you can see their long-time neighbor, Rumpke. Neighbors have noticed cracks in their walls and bricks, which they attribute to the blasting. However, Rumpke says they monitor blasts to ensure they are within the legal limits required for controlled blasting per Ohio Revised Code.

“Seismographs are placed all around the site that monitor each blast and make sure that we’re well below those limits that would even cause cosmetic damage to a house. So, we’re talking about some cracks that you would have, like in plaster; we are well below those limits, based on all seismograph data,” said Yeager.

Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.