Ohio residents seek $3.3 million over forest tree removal dispute
A federal jury trial has begun in Cincinnati regarding the alleged breach of a greenbelt agreement near a former coal plant.
A federal jury trial began on November 9 in Cincinnati over a lawsuit seeking $3.3 million in damages following the removal of approximately 250 trees from an Ohio forest. According to the Times of India, residents of Pierce Township allege that the property owner violated an agreement to keep the greenbelt largely undisturbed.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by Neighbors Opposed to Pit Expansion (NOPE). The group is suing Commercial Liability Partners (CLP), a Missouri-based company that purchased the 1,443-acre former William C. Beckjord coal plant property from Duke Energy in February 2018.
Residents claim the forest acts as a natural barrier between the community and buried coal ash near drinking-water wells. They allege CLP removed walnut, maple, cherry, and pine trees, some 50 feet tall, and created logging roads through the area.
Pierce Township Board of Trustees chairman Allen Freeman said the company began selling valuable materials from the land after taking ownership. He stated that the company started a process of selling hardwood trees in 2019.
The dispute centres on a 1986 agreement requiring the greenbelt to remain in a "substantially undisturbed" condition. CLP lawyer Gregory DeGulis argued that the agreement does not specifically mention trees or mature forests.
The former Beckjord plant, closed in 2014, has more than five million tons of coal ash buried in unlined ponds along the Ohio River. The site is located near Clermont County's public drinking-water wells.