Springfield Township to Consider Major Changes to Mining Ordinance
Springfield Township will consider significant changes to its Mining Control Ordinance at the Township Board meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. The proposed amendments appear on the agenda for a first reading, meaning the Board is beginning its formal consideration of the changes.
The proposed revisions would make substantial changes to how mining operations are reviewed, monitored, renewed and enforced in Springfield Township.
What Significant Changes are Proposed?
Some of the proposed changes would give the Township stronger tools for overseeing mining operations.
Among the larger changes (does not include all changes):
- Annual mining permit reviews would require much more information about what was actually mined during the previous year and what is planned next.
- Updated aerial photographs would show mined areas, internal truck routes, stockpiles, crushers, wash plants and other changes to the operation.
- Mining operators would have to identify deviations from Township requirements and explain how and when they will be corrected.
- The Township could require additional experts, not only the Township Engineer, to review and monitor mining operations.
- Monitoring costs could include both the mine property and the designated haul route.
- Groundwater monitoring wells could be reviewed and sampled according to a schedule established in the permit.
- Mining trucks and contractors would be required to use the haul route designated by the Township and Road Commission.
- Tire-washing measures would be required to help prevent mud from being tracked onto public roads.
- Completed mining areas would be expected to be reclaimed without unnecessary delay.
New Protection for Nearby Wells
One notable addition concerns private wells.
The proposed ordinance would require a mining permit holder to establish a contingency plan to correct or replace local wells that cease to fully function during mining, unless the operator can demonstrate through a professional expert report that the problem is unrelated to the mining operation.
That is an important addition, but several important protections remain incomplete.
- The proposed language does not establish a required program for testing surrounding residential wells before mining begins. **Without reliable pre-mining information about water levels, well yield and water quality, determining whether a later change was caused by mining could be difficult!
- The wording also focuses on wells that “cease to fully function.” A well could experience reduced yield, lowered water levels, sediment, turbidity or changes in water quality without completely failing. It is important to consider any and all possible negative impacts to residential wells, not just a complete well failure.
Stronger Enforcement, but…
The proposed amendments would replace the Township’s existing enforcement language with a much more detailed system for violations, corrective action, permit suspension and revocation. Depending on the violation and compliance history, a mining permit could be suspended for increasing periods of time and ultimately revoked.
The Township Board would also receive new authority to immediately suspend a mining permit where serious and irreparable harm to people or property, or impairment or pollution of the environment, is likely to occur.
Here comes the ‘but…’
Not every proposed change necessarily strengthens protection.
For example…
- The draft would allow the Board to renew a permit while approving certain “deviations from compliance” as conditions of renewal.
- Resident Translation: The draft could allow a mining permit to be renewed even if the mine is not fully following the rules. It does not clearly say what types of problems can be allowed or how quickly they must be fixed.
- It would also allow an existing mining authorization to continue if the Township does not complete its annual renewal decision by May 15. The draft does not establish a firm deadline for how long that temporary continuation could last.
- Resident Translation: It could mean a mine continues operating for weeks or months under its old permit while the Township review remains unfinished. Without a firm deadline, there is little pressure to complete the review quickly, even if new concerns, violations, or updated permit conditions need to be addressed.
- The ordinance also continues to place certain decisions in the hands of the Township Supervisor or the Supervisor’s designee.
- Resident Translation: This leaves important decisions vulnerable to one-person discretion, with less public oversight and less accountability for how exceptions or approvals are granted. It can also create a gatekeeping problem, where one person has too much control over what moves forward, what gets reviewed, and what information reaches the public. The challenges Springfield Township has faced over the past 15 months have only highlighted the need for a stronger system. A system that reduces gatekeeping, improves transparency, and ensures that substantive discussions and decisions do not happen outside the public process.
- For a regulatory system overseeing large mining operations, residents may want to ask whether important waivers, exceptions, expert-review decisions and operating authorizations should instead be based on written standards and Township Board action rather than the discretion of one official.
Could someone please clarify…
How will the NEW requirements apply to EXISTING mining operations and mining applications that are already pending?
Springfield currently regulates existing mining operations and is also reviewing the proposed Ormond Road sand and gravel operation. The ordinance should clearly explain which new monitoring, groundwater, enforcement and reporting requirements will apply to existing permits, future annual renewals and pending applications.
Communication is Key
The proposed amendments contain considerably more monitoring and reporting requirements, but this is only part of the issue. It is time for the Township to create a strong public communication system for information. During a time of public distrust, lack of transparency, and denying access via town halls, it is essential that the Township Board (not just the Supervisor) develop a process to disseminate information to the public.
What happens when the Township’s communication structure depends too heavily on a single individual, and that relationship breaks down? A reliable system should ensure that residents continue to receive information and have a clear path for communication regardless of personal disagreements, strained relationships, or changes in leadership.
Residents should not have to chase information, depend on one official, search through hundreds of pages, or watch hours of meeting footage to understand a major project affecting their community. Communication should be organized, routine, accessible, and built into the Township’s process.
I will say this louder for the people in the back…
Public communication should be built into the process, not dependent on the willingness of one person to remain engaged.
Residents can attend Thursday’s meeting
The Springfield Township Board meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, August 13, at the Township Civic Center, 12000 Davisburg Road.
The meeting can also be viewed remotely through the Township’s Zoom livestream.
Because this is the ‘first reading’, typically that means there is still an opportunity for residents and Township officials to closely examine the proposed language and identify protections that should be added before the ordinance is finalized.
The proposed amendments are a significant step toward stronger mining oversight. The next question is whether Springfield will use this opportunity to create protections that are measurable, enforceable, transparent and consistent… regardless of which mining company is operating or who happens to hold Township office.
