• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Quarry Met With Disdain

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Ron Brown, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.

Oct. 19--More than 50 anxious Evington residents filled the local fire department's tiny meeting room to express displeasure with a plan by Boxley Materials Co. to locate a rock quarry in the heart of their community.

David Keesee, who works with his father at a local body shop, summarized the meeting this way.

"They still want a rock quarry," he said. "We don't want it."

Keesee said dust from the quarry would make it nearly impossible for him to paint and sell cars.

From every indication, the battle lines over the quarry will center on Campbell County's zoning ordinance.

The 500-acre site owned by Boxley is zoned for agriculture. A rock quarry is not allowed under agriculture zoning.

Boxley officials had hoped to head off public opposition by holding Tuesday's meeting.

If Keesee is any indication, they came up short.

"This was basically a waste of time," he said.

Even before the meeting began, Boxley officials had anticipated opponents' talking points.

On a flip chart, they had listed potential objections to the quarry.

The list included:

--truck traffic,

--blasting vibrations,

--noise,

--dust,

--effects on ground water and

--effects on property values.

Larry Hall, 55, a lifelong Evington resident, remained unimpressed. His home is about a quarter of a mile from what may one day be ground zero of the blasting zone.

"I think they were being polite," he said. "I think their presentation was a snow job."

Hall said he plans to take the fight to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors or the ballot box, if need be.

"I don't think there is a need to have any more meetings with Boxley," he said.

Phyllis Clary said she thinks Evington residents will have to band together to get the quarry stopped.

"The bottom line is that Boxley is going to pursue the quarry no matter what we do," she said. "It is our responsibility to stop them. It's like a flood. We've got to build the barricade now."

In an hourlong question and answer session, Boxley officials attempted to allay concerns.

Residents raised questions about whether the quarry operation could adversely affect the flow and quality of groundwater once the blasting and mining of rock begins.

Boxley officials said that a hydrological study would be done to assure that groundwater is not harmed.

Others asked about dust pollution and the potential for lights spilling out of the quarry during night operations.

"We don't typically operate at night," said Jack McCarthy, the supervisor at Boxley's existing Lawyers Road quarry.

Boxley officials said they anticipate about 400 trucks will use the proposed Evington quarry each day once it is operational.

That could be a decade away, McCarthy said.

The company will not start seeking permits for the quarry until the middle of 2006, he said.

In the mean time, the company is having the site's rock deposit tested. Preliminary tests show the site's rock bed is sound.

"You have to make sure that the rock is of a quality that is good for construction," he said. "There is a good bit of rock."

On Tuesday night, he said the site might contain enough rock to last 100 years.

"There is a nice deposit of rock there," McCarthy said. "You or I or our kids might not see the end to it."

Only 20 percent of the site would have to be used to provide enough rock for 20 years.

Two members of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors were at Tuesday's meeting, but neither was willing to tip his hand on whether he would support the quarry.

"I can see that the people are concerned that their property will be disturbed," said Seneca District Supervisor Hugh Rosser. "They currently have a lovely community."

Altavista District Supervisor Calvin Carter said he appreciated the civil tone of the meeting.

"I was impressed by the fairness of the presenters and those in attendance," he said.

-----

To see more of The News & Advance, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsadvance.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The News & Advance

More News in this Category