Quarry pitch faces opposition

US Aggregates continued to make its case for expanding its operation to the north.

Some local residents continued to express their opposition to the project.

The company presented additional information about its operation and heard public comments during an informational meeting it hosted Monday evening at The Rock Church in Portland.

US Aggregates is hoping to expand its stone quarry to a parcel of land between county road 100 South and Tyson Road, east of county road 200 West. Its rezoning request for the project also includes two smaller parcels that would be used for storage.

Area operations manager Eric Reynolds noted another parcel that sits north of Tyson Road is no longer part of the rezoning request. Also, vacating part of county road 100 South, which the company had previously mentioned as a possibility in the future, is not included. He added US Aggregates has recently met with representatives from Tyson Mexican Original, which would sit east of the new quarry with a woods in between, and the company no longer has any objection to the expansion.

US Aggregates representatives and others presented similar information to that offered at Portland Plan Commission’s meeting last month and last week’s Portland City Council meeting. Focusing on noise, dust, blasting and water, presenters noted that the company must follow state and location regulations.

In the case of dust, and specifically “respirable crystalline silica,” it is governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration with “fine grind” operations monitored yearly. (The fine grind operation in Portland would stay at the company’s current site, which sits to the south of the proposed expansion area.)

Steve Benson of Austin Powder, the company that handles blasting for US Aggregates, explained that the U.S. Bureau of Mines sets regulations for vibrations per square inch. (Indiana’s restrictions are even more strict.) He said decades of science shows that as long as those regulations are met, nearby structures will not be damaged.

Mark Basch of Indiana Department of Natural Resources spoke about water issues, noting that state law protects domestic wells from operations that are considered “high capacity.” He said DNR can take a baseline water level now in order to better evaluate the quarry’s impact if there is an issue with wells in the future.

“This quarry currently, compared to other quarries in the state, the amount of water they use seems substantial … but compared to a lot of quarries we have in the state their water withdrawals are not that substantial,” he said.

About 10 local residents from the crowd of more than 50 asked questions or commented during the two-hour meeting that at times became heated. Their questions including the height of berms — Reynolds said they are typically 15 to 20 feet tall — concerns about whether the berms and other areas would be well tended to, property/home values, noise, damage to homes, traffic, hours of operation and others.

“I don’t know why as a community … we would consider expanding a major heavy industrial stone quarry toward the community rather than farther away from it,” said Joe Johnston, a resident of Rose Drive. “I understand the value and I appreciate what we have here in this community with aggregates … but I think there’s a better place that it could be. …

“This is a serious decision that effects every home owner in the area. I would hope that the planning commission and city council would deny the expansion … and I encourage you to seek another site farther away.”

The issue of notification of nearby residents was again brought up multiple times. Such notifications are handled by Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department and are regulated by local zoning ordinances and state code. Only adjoining property owners were required to be notified.

US Aggregates representatives again reiterated their desire to mitigate fears and assured those in attendance that regulations are followed and monitored closely.

“We’ve been where we are currently for over 50 years,” said Reynolds. “I’d ask that you keep that in mind as well. We’ve been in this neighborhood. We’ve been in this community for a long time. We’re just asking to move and continue to business … to the north.”

“We want to be a good neighbor,” added US Aggregates president John Schmidt while thanking all those who attended the meeting. “I feel we have been a good neighbor.”