I-TEAM: Multiple court cases concerning Village of Luckey water plans, investigation shows

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The 13 Action News I-Team is learning there are not one, but two court cases surrounding the Village of Luckey’s plans draw water from a quarry right next to a contaminated site.

“You know, there’s just an overall lack of transparency about the issue,” Grace Fields, a concerned Luckey resident said. “We just want to know what’s going on and get some answers.”

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is spending millions cleaning up the site, where Brush Wellman once manufactured beryllium, a chemical experts say can be toxic when touched or inhaled.

“Is this water safe to be drinking?” Fields said.

The I-Team requested the results of a water test sample from the quarry ordered by village leaders and completed by Brookside Laboratories. They requested to go over the results with the Ohio EPA, but a representatives denied the request.

“Because the Village of Luckey has not submitted a plan for a public water system to Ohio EPA for review, we cannot comment on potential water sources,” EPA Media Coordinator Dina Pierce said. “We can tell you Ohio EPA has already contacted the village, inviting local officials to discuss this issue with us.”

After attempting to the buy the quarry when it went up for sale in 2021, the Village of Luckey is now suing T&S Agriventures LLC, which owns the quarry, under eminent domain.

The case is playing out in Wood County’s Common Pleas Court.

The I-Team obtained hundreds of pages of transcripts from the case, and found it isn’t the only legal fight.

T&S Agriventures is suing the Village of Luckey in federal court, alleging that village representatives intentionally sabotaged the 2021 auction. A complaint by T&S Agriventures says representatives placed no-parking signs around the quarry on the day of the auction. The documents also claims village representatives intentionally made themselves visible at the auction to dissuade bidders.

The auction ultimately ended with no one buying the quarry. T&S Agriventures alleges that they took a poll of bidders presented at the auction and found that a “vast majority” of the bidders said the village’s actions prevented them from bidding on the property.

The quarry’s owners want to sell the property for residential development, but those plans are currently on hold.

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