Viper mine in Elkhart employs more than 300 area residents and has an annual payroll of $22 million, but many that crowded a school gym in the town of 500 Thursday night want zoning officials to deny the company’s request to expand its operations.
The company, which has operated in Logan County for more than 30 years, wants to expand their coal ash storage area.
But resident Virginia Van Pelt believes allowing the company to add more dump sites for fly ash could be a health disaster.
“I’m very much against it. We have a lot of children in town, we have a lot of elderly and they are the most susceptible to toxins,” says Van Pelt. “They want to turn Elkhart in the next Love Canal. They just don’t give a darn.”
Viper spokesperson Logan Bonacorsi points to the more than 30-year spotless safety and says the company has always been a good neighbor by helping re-build roads in the tiny community
The Logan County Zoning Board is expected to make its recommendations to the County Board later this month.