Bath Township, Greene County, Ohio

Last updated

Bath Township, Greene County, Ohio
Township
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from 70o.jpg
Most of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is located in Bath Township.
Map of Greene County Ohio Highlighting Bath Township.png
Location of Bath Township in Greene County
Coordinates: 39°48′34″N84°1′23″W / 39.80944°N 84.02306°W / 39.80944; -84.02306
Country United States
State Ohio
County Greene
Area
 • Total37.8 sq mi (98.0 km2)
 • Land37.5 sq mi (97.0 km2)
 • Water0.4 sq mi (1.0 km2)
Elevation
[1]
860 ft (262 m)
Population
 (2020) [2]
 • Total39,365
 • Density1,000/sq mi (400/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code 39-04220 [3]
GNIS feature ID1086163 [1]
Website www.bathtwp.us

Bath Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 39,365.

Contents

Geography

Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:

Several populated places are located in Bath Township:

Name and history

Bath Township was organized in 1807. [5] The township was named after Bath, Maine (which was named after the English city of Bath). One of the early settlers came from the city in Maine. [6] Statewide, other Bath Townships are located in Allen and Summit counties. [7]

The first settlers in Bath Township were members of the Mercer family, who immigrated from Virginia. The precise date of their arrival is unknown, but it seems certain that crops were being raised in the township before George Washington died in 1799. [8] The Mercer Log House still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [9]

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, [10] who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Biodigester Controversy

In 2014, a 5.5 million gallon Dovetail Energy Biodigester, owned and operated by Renergy Incorporated, was built in Bath Township. It was built on a pig farm owned by then-Bath Township Trustee Thomas V. Pitstick. [11] Residents of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn began to complain of odor in the areas around the digester, which continued to be the source of controversy.

The biodigester is to be shut down by 31 January 2024, by order of the Ohio Attorney General.

Zoning Appeals

Following years of complaints from Bath Township and Fairborn residents, the Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals brought in an outside prosecutor to advise the township in 2019. On 6 September 2019, Renergy Inc., Dovetail Energy LLC, and Thomas Pitstick were sent a Notice of Violation from this prosecutor citing the operation was in violation of the Ohio Revised Code and Bath Township's zoning codes. The letter alleged that since more than half of the material feeding the biodigester came from outside of Pitstick's farm, that the operation was industrial in nature, as opposed to the agricultural zone it was operating on. They were given 30 days to correct the violation cited in the letter. [12]

Dovetail Energy appealed the decision with the Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals, which the board denied on 3 March 2020.

Following this, Dovetail Energy appealed the Board's decision to the Greene County Common Pleas Court. Dovetail Energy argued that since the energy production qualified as a public utility, that it was exempt from township zoning requirements. They further supported this argument by citing that the biodigester in operation was an Ohio Renewable Energy Resource Generating Facility and that they had paid Public Utility Personal Property Taxes to the State of Ohio and Greene County since 2015. [13] The Court ruled in favor of Dovetail Energy on 29 April 2021 and the operation was allowed to continue. [14] This mirrored a decision made in Morrow County, Ohio where another biodigester was in operation.

The Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals then appealed Greene County's decision to the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals, which also ruled in favor of Dovetail Energy on 14 Jan 2022. [15]

The first lawsuit was brought against Dovetail Energy LLC & Renergy Inc. on 10 December 2020. It was a class action lawsuit filed by Luke Borntrager, a Bath Township resident who resided in the immediate vicinity of the biodigester. It alleged that Dovetail Energy had failed to "collect, capture, and destroy gas from the facility in a manner that does not allow noxious odors". It also alleged negligence on behalf of Dovetail Energy, Thomas Pitstick (who was still a sitting Bath Township Trustee), and Renergy Inc., despite repeated government and resident complaints. [16]

Renergy Inc. motioned to dismiss the class-action in February 2021. [17]

In April 2022, the City of Fairborn and Bath Township filed a federal lawsuit against Renergy Inc., Dovetail Energy LLC, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. [18] It alleged that Renergy and Dovetail Energy were knowingly in violation of the Clean Air Act by allowing the biodigeste storage tank to emit significant quantities of ammonia without applying for or obtaining an air pollution permit, or adopting any countermeasures to control the amount of emissions. They further emphasized this was also in violation of Ohio Air Pollution Control laws in the Ohio Revised Code. The Ohio and US EPAs were named as defendants for allegedly failing to enforce the Clean Air Act and Ohio Air Pollution Control laws on Renergy and Dovetail Energy.

This lawsuit was further supported by another lawsuit filed by the Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost against Renergy on 15 April 2022 for emissions of ammonia without a permit. The Attorney General's lawsuit detailed that the company initially only used agricultural waste to generate energy, but began accepting municipal and commercial waste by February 2018. It claimed, “the company failed to obtain the required permit for the digestate storage tank at the time it started introducing non-agricultural organic wastes into the process and thus became subject to regulation.” [19] Renergy Inc and Dovetail Energy reached a settlement with the Ohio Attorney General in the Greene County Common Pleas Court later that month. They agreed to pay a civil penalty of $75,000, as well as establish deadlines for correction of the emissions. The lawsuit held a maximum fine of $35.6 million. [20]

The US and Ohio EPAs stated that Fairborn and Bath Township's lawsuit "stepped beyond the scope of their offices" and that "the fact that plaintiffs might not be satisfied with the progress Ohio EPA and EPA made does not mean that they may seek an order from this court, forcing EPA to exercise its enforcement authority". They cited that diligent prosecution had met and the civil lawsuit held no grounds for something the agencies were already attempting to enforce. [21]

In September 2022, Renergy Inc. was issued a Notice of Violation by the US EPA. It cited excess emissions of hydrogen sulfide from the biodigester's flare and engine in January 2019. It also alleged that from 21 June 2021 to 6 December 2021 that Renergy improperly operated the biodigester's facility engines, to include negligently shutting down the flare used to burn excess gasses. [22]

On 20 September 2023, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued an order to Renergy Incorporated to completely shutdown the biodigester by 31 January 2024. Renergy agreed to the following terms: [23]

Political Controversy

Thomas V. Pitstick was a Bath Township Trustee from at least July 2008 to November 2021. The Dovetail Energy biodigester was built on his pig farm in 2014, when he held public office.

After the initial zoning disputes, citizens petitioned for Pitstick to resign his position on the Board of Trustees in December 2020, due to his involvement with the ongoing lawsuits and controversy surrounding the biodigester. The petition also called for Steve Ross, another Trustee, to resign for an unrelated matter. The petition stated, “we believe that Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick have continually failed to hold the best interest of the citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn (which resides in Bath Township) as their primary focus, and have let their personal views and interests result in decisions that have both negatively and adversely affected citizens thereof.” Pitstick and Ross did not step down from their positions. [24]

Shortly after, in March 2021, the Bath Township Board of Trustees voted to tighten rules for public comment at township meetings. The rules were introduced by Bath Township Administrator Pete Bales, in order to restrict comments on the township's ongoing litigation with Renergy Inc. and Dovetail Energy.

Bales stated, "We are involved in pending litigation and we should not be commenting on it...So whenever there’s a question about Dovetail or the Dovetail lawsuit, as much as people want to know what’s going on, it is pending in court. And we should not be commenting on it. We should let our attorneys do that work". Residents were upset about the changes, alleging the township was becoming less transparent with its constituents. [25]

The rules passed in a 2-1 vote. Trustees Pitstick and Ross voted in favor of the restrictions, while Trustee Kassie Lester voted against it.

Pitstick would lose reelection in November 2021 against then-Fairborn Deputy City Mayor Rob Hoffman. [26] Pitstick received 932 votes vs Hoffman's 2,544, Bath Township had 7,514 eligible voters that year. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairborn, Ohio</span> City in Ohio, United States

Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Dayton and part of the Dayton metropolitan area. The city is home to Wright State University, which serves nearly 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The city also hosts the disaster training facility known informally as Calamityville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio State Route 235</span> State highway in western Ohio, US

State Route 235 is a 133.2-mile-long (214.4 km) north–south state highway in the western portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Its southern terminus is at US 68 near the small town of Oldtown just north of Xenia, and its northern terminus is at State Route 65 at the Maumee River nearly 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Grand Rapids, west of Otsego.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copley Township, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Copley Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 18,403 people in the township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarcreek Township, Greene County, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Sugarcreek Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,534.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatrock Township, Henry County, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Flatrock Township is one of the thirteen townships of Henry County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 1,248.

WWRD-LP was a low-power television station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded December 8, 1989, the station was owned by Life Broadcasting Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Township, Montgomery County, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

A suburb of Dayton, Washington Township is the largest of nine townships of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 61,882 at the 2020 census.

The Greene County Public Library serves the communities of Greene County, Ohio. The library system's administrative offices are in Xenia, and other branches are located in Beavercreek, Cedarville, Fairborn, Jamestown, Bellbrook, and Yellow Springs. Greene County Library is a member of the Miami Valley Libraries, one of eleven regional library cooperatives in Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio</span> Civil township in Ohio, United States

Miami Township is one of the nine townships of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 52,156 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenia Township, Greene County, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Xenia Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,742.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beavercreek Township, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Beavercreek Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the township population was 56,026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Township, Greene County, Ohio</span> Township in Ohio, United States

Miami Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the township population was 4,933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron, Ohio</span> Unincorporated community in Ohio, U.S.

Byron is a small unincorporated community in southeastern Bath Township, Greene County, Ohio, United States. It sits at the intersection of Linebaugh and Dayton-Yellow Springs Roads, between Fairborn and Xenia. Byron is located at 39°47′10″N83°58′51″W, at an elevation of 915 feet (279 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumpke Sanitary Landfill</span> Waste landfill in Ohio

Rumpke Sanitary Landfill, more colloquially known as Mount Rumpke or Rumpke Mountain, is one of the largest landfills in the United States located in Colerain Township, Hamilton County, north of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. and occupies over 230 acres (93 ha) of a 440-acre (180 ha) tract of land that the company owns. The landfill receives 2 million tons of household and industrial wastes annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayton metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan Statistical Area in Ohio, United States

Metro Dayton or the Miami Valley, or more formally the Dayton–Kettering–Beavercreek, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in the Miami Valley region of Ohio and is anchored by the city of Dayton. As of 2020, it is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Ohio and the 73rd-largest metropolitan area by population in the United States with a population of 814,049.

George E. Terwilleger was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000. His district consisted of a portion of Warren County, Ohio. He was succeeded by Tom Raga. A bridge in Foster, Ohio, where the Old 3-C Highway crosses the Little Miami River, is named in his honor.

Range Resources Corporation is a natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It operates in the Marcellus Formation, where it is one of the largest land owners

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercer Log House</span> United States historic place

The Mercer Log House is a large log cabin in the city of Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Home to the city's first settlers and changed very little since their time, it is one of Ohio's best preserved log cabins from the settlement period, and it has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu Temple of Dayton</span> Hindu temple located in Beavercreek, Ohio, United States

The Hindu Temple of Dayton is a Hindu temple in Beavercreek, Ohio. It opened in 1984, making it the oldest Hindu temple in the Dayton metropolitan area. It has shrines for the deities Venkateshwara, Rama and Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, Ganesha, and Radha Krishna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Council State Park</span> Park in Ohio, USA

Great Council State Park in the Oldtown area of Xenia Township, Greene County, Ohio, United States, is scheduled to open on June 7, 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Bath township, Greene County, Ohio - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ↑ Greene County, Ohio Archived 2007-11-11 at the Wayback Machine , Greene County Auditor's Office, 2002. Accessed 2007-11-09.
  5. ↑ Greene County, 1803-1908. Aldine Publishing House. 1908. pp.  89.
  6. ↑ Poole, Mary Parker (1957). The Fairborn Story. Fairborn, Ohio: Miami Valley Publishing. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Detailed map of Ohio" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  8. ↑ Broadstone, Michael A. History of Greene County, Ohio: Its People, Industries, and Institutions . Vol. 1. Indianapolis: Bowen, 1918, 285.
  9. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. ↑ §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.
  11. ↑ "Bath Township Zoning Resolution". Greene County Ohio. July 16, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ Meibers, Bonnie (April 29, 2021). "Greene County judge rules in favor of controversial biodigester, residents 'heartbroken'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  13. ↑ Meibers, Bonnie (April 29, 2021). "Greene County judge rules in favor of controversial biodigester, residents 'heartbroken'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Greene County Common Pleas Court Case No. 2020 CV 0198" (PDF). NPR. April 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  15. ↑ Bishop, London (January 14, 2022). "Renergy wins appeal in Bath. Twp. biodigester zoning case". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  16. ↑ Bishop, London (December 11, 2020). "Residents file class-action lawsuit against Dovetail, Pitstick". Fairborn Daily Herald. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Meibers, Bonnie (March 15, 2021). "Bath Twp. tightens public comment rules for meetings". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ Halasz, Scott (April 19, 2022). "Fairborn, Bath sue over biodigester". Fairborn Daily Herald. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  19. ↑ Halasz, Scott (April 19, 2022). "Fairborn, Bath sue over biodigester". Fairborn Daily Herald. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Renergy reaches agreement with Ohio AG on biodigester lawsuit in Greene County". WHIOTV7. April 26, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  21. ↑ Halasz, Scott (April 19, 2022). "Fairborn, Bath sue over biodigester". Fairborn Daily Herald. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  22. ↑ Bishop, London (September 2, 2022). "US EPA cites Renergy over emissions, operations at Greene County biodigester". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Local foul-smelling biodigester to shut down, Ohio Attorney General says". WHIOTV7. September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Bath Twp residents demand Pitstick, Ross resign". Fairborn Daily Herald. December 4, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Bath Twp. tightens public comment rules for meetings". Dayton Daily News. March 15, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Fairborn deputy mayor to run for trustee seat". Fairborn Daily Herald. May 7, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Greene County Election Roundup: Levies voted down, incumbents voted out in several races". Dayton Daily News. November 3, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.