By ideastream's Brian Bull
Nearly $12 million will be distributed across 850 Ohio communities, stemming from a settlement between the state and two salt companies.
Neither Minnesota-based Cargill nor Chicago-based Morton Salt have admitted any wrong-doing, but both have paid out roughly $8 million and $4 million respectively, to settle an antitrust case filed in 2012 by the Ohio Attorney General.
In its suit, Mike DeWine’s office alleged that the two companies divided up the Ohio market, agreed not to compete with one another, and then raised rock salt prices for nearly a decade.
The Attorney General’s Office says this agreement between Cargill and Morton left highway departments and public works companies across Ohio paying above-market prices for salt, as they tried to keep roadways clear of ice and snow in the winter season.
Amounts drawn up from the settlement range from a quarter-million dollars for the City of Cleveland, to $45,000 for Canton to $500 for Northeast Ohio Medical University. The Medina County Sheriff’s Office received $319.
The AG’s office reached out to municipalities earlier this year, asking them for salt purchasing records between 2008 and 2010…the time which Ohio was allowed to seek recovery in the case.
Other payments went to government agencies including the Ohio Department of Transportation – which received $1.7 million – and the Ohio Turnpike Commission, which received $174,000.