Shelly Company continues effort to operate asphalt and concrete plants at Alexandria

The Shelly Company hasn’t given up on building asphalt- and concrete-mixing facilities on land it leases along Raccoon Creek on the southeast side of Alexandria.

The most recent sign came in an almost indecipherable public notice that appeared in the Newark Advocate on Jan. 18 that left area residents scratching their heads wondering what it was trying to tell them.

In common terms, the ad filled with language such as “hereby gives notice of the county’s intent to revise the flood hazard information, generally located between Moots Run Road and State Route 37,” was saying that an engineer working for Shelly Company subsidiary Shelly Materials has drawn up revised floodplain maps for land Shelly leases on the southeast side of Alexandria.

And the new maps for both the floodplain and the floodway, which is a wider area than the floodplain, suggest that all of the land where Shelly wants to place its asphalt- and concrete-mixing facilities is no longer in the floodplain, based on a review of the maps on file at the Licking County Planning & Development office.

Shelly is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve the revised maps for land it leases from local resident James Geiger, where a sand-and-gravel quarry has existed for decades.

Further explanation will come during the Feb. 2 meeting of the Licking County Planning Commission. The meeting was scheduled for Jan. 26 but was postponed because of the Level 3 Snow Emergency that was in place for Licking County that day. The planning commission meets in the basement of the Licking County Administration Building, 20 S. 2nd Street, in downtown Newark.

| Read more: Asphalt plants proposed near Alexandria raise pollution concerns along Raccoon Creek 

Licking County Planning Director Carson Combs prepared a staff report about the latest version of the maps and a report accompanying the maps.

“As expressed by the applicant’s engineer,” Combs wrote, “the revisions being submitted to FEMA include the following findings:”

No-Impact Determination: The study confirms that as-built conditions of the sand and gravel quarry operations on the Geiger property do not increase flood elevations for either the 1-percent-annual-chance or the 1-percent-annual-chance future conditions. This demonstrates compliance with Licking County’s no-rise floodway standard.

Mapped Flood Zone Changes: Changes to the mapped flood zone limits (both increases and decreases) are primarily attributed to the use of higher-resolution topographic data (2021 USGS 3DEP LiDAR) compared to the 2000-vintage topography used for the ‘Effective study.’ These mapping changes do not indicate actual changes in flood risk; rather, they reflect improved accuracy in delineating existing flood hazards.

Onsite Changes (Geiger Property): Floodplain and floodway boundary changes on the Geiger property reflect as-built conditions resulting from decades of sand and gravel quarry operations.

Offsite Floodway Changes: Offsite floodway boundary changes result from application of Licking County’s current floodway standard (0.01-foot allowable rise, as of May 2, 2007), which is more restrictive than the 0.5-foot standard used in the original ‘Effective study.’ This tighter standard better protects surrounding properties from incremental flood impacts, but results in a wider floodway boundary.

“Based on the required public notification, staff will work to answer as many questions from the public as possible,” Combs wrote. “In the meantime, FEMA will begin another round of review prior to a final determination.”

The public notice and discussion of the maps at the planning commission meeting are part of a process that has been going on for three years as Shelly Materials repeatedly seeks approval to operate on the Geiger property. To date, the company’s proposal has been rejected several times by the planning commission and the courts.

| Read more: Shelly Company drops appeal of ruling against permit for an asphalt plant in Alexandria

Even if FEMA approves the revised maps, the county planning commission has the final say about whether the proposal meets county floodplain regulations, said Brad Mercer, planning manager for the Licking County Planning & Development office.

For now, the county planning staff is providing an update as required by FEMA, which hired independent reviewers to look over the maps. The reviewers sent them back to engineer Glenn Heistand of BaseFlood Engineering of Springfield, Illinois, with comments and questions in October.

The current versions of the maps were first drawn up in March 2024 and have been revised three times since then, according to a report by Heistand filed at the Licking County planning office.

“The review analysis is not complete,” Mercer said on Jan. 22.

The independent reviewers hired by FEMA have 90 days from Jan. 19 to look over Heistand’s responses to their comments and questions, Mercer said, but if another federal government shutdown occurs, it could take longer than 90 days.

The reviewers could send back more comments and questions. If they and FEMA decide the maps are acceptable toward the goal of revising the floodplain maps for land around Raccoon Creek southeast of Alexandria, the Shelly Company would then face county review.

Mercer said that if and when that happens – no sooner than three months from now – the county planning office will place a public notice and give area residents the opportunity to comment before a final decision is made.

Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.