Slippery Rock Creek, and the area abutting the creek, are true gems in Western Pennsylvania that we all have enjoyed and are currently at risk due to industry. A company called HEI-Way,LLC is attempting to build a cold mix asphalt plant along a 15-acre piece of property right along the creek in Slippery Rock Township (Butler County),about eight miles upstream from McConnells Mill State Park. Cold asphalt is a quick-fix solution used for fixing potholes or road cracks.

For decades, this property was zoned as Rural-Conservation, but was changed to Light Industrial after
the company successfully lobbied the Township’s Zoning Hearing Board to amend their zoning code to
accommodate plans for this plant, despite resident pushback since 2020. Allowing this asphalt plant to be built will destroy the peace, tranquility, and healthy environment, and allow toxic wastewater to be discharged into the creek.

Save Slippery Rock Creek (SSRC) has taken this fight to the courts and before the zoning board with
exceptional counsel on their side and has won the first rounds to push this project back. They also
intend to fight their requests for necessary permits before the PA Department of Environmental
Protection (PA DEP), should this project be approved by the Township.

During the latest public hearing for this project on November 22nd, the vice president of Hei-Way and
their expert witnesses assured Slippery Rock Township Zoning Hearing Board and residents who
attended, that a cold asphalt plant does not have the inherent nuisances and risks that are normally
associated with hot asphalt plants, including highly carcinogenic air emissions, heavy truck traffic, and
toxic wastewater discharged into the creek, and that they had done their due diligence of conducting
air, sound, water testings/simulations, showing that the creek and surrounding area would be kept
safe/not affected by the plant’s operations. The vice president and owner of the company even went so far as to say that no emissions are coming off of the current asphalt site in nearby Sarver, PA, and that there wouldn’t be at the Slippery Rock site, either.

However, upon cross-examination by SSRC counsel, many alarming contradictions and additional points were brought to light, including how the supposed environmental studies conducted by the expert witnesses were not submitted to SSRC counsel and potentially did not reflect the nature of the site, or that the witnesses were possibly not qualified to conduct the studies or provide expert testimony during the hearing. Some of the most shocking revelations include:

● The property was actually in TWO different zoning districts, one of which does not allow
industrial activity to occur
● Air modeling was NOT conducted for the Slippery Rock site to see how emissions would travel
from the asphalt plant to neighboring properties, and air studies themselves were only
conducted for one hour on hand-picked days. This was also the case for the sound studies
conducted.
● Chemical components for the asphalt mix not only contained carcinogenic materials that
required special handling, but the vice president refused to disclose some of the ingredients in
the asphalt mixture, claiming that it was “proprietary knowledge,” even though it may contain
chemicals toxic to human and other wildlife
● Stormwater would be allowed to fall directly onto finished asphalt product, and be allowed to
seep into unpaved ground, or runoff to travel directly to Slippery Rock Creek. The finished
product includes (that we know of) diesel, styrene, and silica, all of which are classified as
carcinogenic or harmful to human and wildlife if exposed to without the proper protection.

This battle will be long and arduous against a company with substantial resources. SSRC is asking for support in order to keep winning in court so that we can prevent this environmental and public health disaster! To view the full public hearings and for more information on SSRC or how to donate, please visit saveslipperyrockcreek.weebly.com

Paul Boas
Co-founder, Save Slippery Rock Creek

Robin Lynn Martin
PA Organizer, Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action