BROOKFIELD Company to suspend blasting

A quarry neighbor likened the blasts to thunder or a tree falling into a house.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;By TIM YOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has ordered a Youngstown company to suspend blasting at a local quarry.
The order was issued recently to City Aggregates & amp; Recycling Inc. by Michael L. Sponsler, chief of ODNR's Division of Mineral Resources Management. Sponsler cited the company's failure to comply with ground vibration and airblast limits as cause for the suspension.
A company spokesman could not be reached to comment Monday.
Rock is blasted at the Route 7 quarry, crushed and used in construction.
Complaints
Although the quarry is in Brookfield Township, the nearest homes are in Hubbard Township. Some property owners in Hubbard have complained of loud noise during the blasting and damage to their property.
"They'll be blasting in the next couple of months," said Paul Pasquerilla, whose Thomas Road home is 3,000 to 4,000 feet from the blasting.
Pasquerilla likened the noise from the explosions to the crack of lightning or a tree falling on a house.
Pasquerilla complained that the vibration has opened a crack in his basement wall and collapsed his well, causing him to run a 1,300-foot waterline to the home that he built less than 10 years ago.
"I respect their right to make money," said the 53-year-old Pasquerilla, but he said the company has no right to destroy his home. "I'm going to complain any time the blasts shake my house."
Deadline for appeal
City Aggregates has 30 days to file an appeal of the order.
Blasting operations shall remain ceased until City Aggregates submits a blasting plan that is approved by the state.
If City Aggregates fails to comply with the order, its operator's permit may be revoked.
The current blasting plan has proved inadequate, according to the order. Ground vibrations and airblast limits have been exceeded.
An airblast is caused when energy in the form of gases from an explosion vent through cracks and the blast hole.
In a Dec. 21 letter to Hubbard Township Trustee Fred Hanley, Michael J. Mann, ODNR blast specialist, wrote that although the company has a history of blast-related violations, it has demonstrated an ability to comply with performance standards.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;yovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;