LISBON Carwash, city dispute well usage

LISBON -- Columbiana city officials are asking a judge to bar the owner of a carwash from using a water well drilled on the carwash property.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this week in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court against J & amp;J Car Wash Inc., 770 Thornberry Trail, North Lima, the city says the well was drilled in November in violation of a 1998 use agreement between the carwash and the city.
In its lawsuit, the city says that when the city planning commission approved installation of the carwash at 2200 County Line Road, the panel understood that the facility was to use city water, not well water.
The city further argues that the well's presence violates its regulations forbidding installing a well to produce water for human consumption when a municipal water main is within 100 feet.
A September 2002 letter to the city from Atty. James Wright who represented John Arsuffi, the carwash operator, is attached to the city's lawsuit as an exhibit.
The letter states that Arsuffi wanted to drill a well to supplement the carwash's city-water supply. The well water would not be used for human consumption, the letter also states. The city responded to the letter later in September 2002 by saying it objected to the well.
The case is assigned to Judge David Tobin.