Dec. 26—The estate of Jerome Osborne has agreed to pay $300,000 for illegal handling of dredged material that polluted the East Branch Chagrin River for restoration of the waterway under a proposed settlement brokered by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
According to a news release from Yost's office, the case dates to 2001, when Osborne and his company, Osborne Co., dredged the river without a permit, ultimately dumping eight spoil piles of dredged materials — each 8 to 20 feet high — in the riverbed and along the riverbank, extensively damaging the waterway.
"This polluter dumped eight mountains of muck along one of Ohio's scenic rivers and left the mess for someone else to clean up," Yost said in the release. "The money from this agreement will reverse years of damage and restore this section of the river to pristine condition."
Spoil piles accelerate erosion and can expose aquatic species to toxic substances, including phosphorus, when sediment resettles into the river, according to the release.
Although the dredging ended in 2007, the spoil piles remained until the village of Kirtland Hills removed all but one in 2013. The last pile, known as the Oliva pile, remains there in a section of the river that runs next to Baldwin Road.
According to the release, a lengthy court battle with the state ensued, culminating in a civil penalty of $224,240 and a court order requiring the defendants to submit a plan for removing the Oliva pile. The defendants paid the civil penalty in 2022, but never removed the remaining pile.
An April 2023 inspection discovered even greater damage to the river, both at the site of the Oliva pile and downstream — the result of cumulative years of neglect.
Under the proposed agreement with the state, Osborne's estate will pay $300,000 to the Chagrin River Watershed Partners instead of completing the court-ordered cleanup itself. The nonprofit group will use the money to remove the pile and reverse erosion caused by the environmental violations.