The Jackson County Planning Commission has voted unanimously to deny an Alabama mining company’s proposal to build a granite quarry in southern Jackson County.
The vote doesn’t mean the end of Vulcan Materials Co.’s proposal, however. The planning commission’s vote is only a recommendation. The company’s request for a special use permit now goes to the Jackson County Commission, which is set to take up the issue Nov. 18.
The county’s planning staff had recommended denial, but also compiled a list of 21 conditions they said should be imposed if the Jackson County Commission does vote to permit the quarry on a 900-acre tract of mostly forest with some wetlands, near Sandy Creek Park’s wetlands and partly bordered by the North Oconee River, Athens’ main source of drinking water. Vulcan representatives indicated they might be agreeable to most of the conditions.
The issue could also be headed for court. Athens lawyer David Ellison, who presented most of Vulcan’s case during the meeting, warned planning commissioners that a denial of the request based on environmental and some other issues raised by opponents would be a violation of state law. The state Environmental Protection Division is responsible for enforcing environmental law, not the county, he said.
Opponents of the quarry note that the area has been identified as an important groundwater recharge area and say it could pollute drinking water downstream, and create traffic hazards for neighbors. Vulcan disputes that the area is actually a groundwater recharge area; their scientists say earlier studies were in error, Ellison said.
Ellison said the quarry could actually be a benefit for the county by providing a buffer between industries occupying land to the south and the rural character of the area around the Center community to the north. “We are the ones here preserving the rural character of this community,” he said.
Most of the site would be left undisturbed and forested, and 200 acres would be designated a conservation area, according to the company’s proposal. “We have satisfied every condition required by the ordinance,” Ellison said. “We believe it would be a denial of due process if this application is denied.”
And if the quarry doesn’t go in, the land could wind up in residential development, he said. “Investors [in land] are pushing for a return on their money,” he said.
“What they’re trying to do is scare y’all,” the lawyer said of the quarry opponents. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there.”
Nearly 200 people attended the hearing. Most seemed to be there to oppose the quarry, many wearing lime green “Stop the Quarry” T-shirts. More than 1,200 people so far had signed a petition opposing the quarry, one speaker told the planning commissioners. A dozen people spoke against the quarry in the long public hearing, including one neighbor worried that dust produced by quarry operations could contaminate the honey his bees produce.
Professional hydrologist Todd Rasmussen questioned Vulcan’s assertions about groundwater recharge. “I was disappointed at the lack of information provided in the report,” he said, and explained how groundwater recharge works in areas of fractured bedrock common in this part of the state.
“The wells wouldn’t get water if the rock was solid,” he said.
Rasmussen also cast doubt on the company’s assertion that there was no possibility the quarry could pollute. “We do see nitrate pollution around quarries,” he said.
“It would have been interesting to me to see how much water flows off this site to Sandy Creek,” he added.
The planning commissioners’ 3-0 vote came near midnight after a marathon six-hour meeting—that included not only the lengthy quarry hearing, but also requests that had been scheduled to come before the planning commission at its September meeting, canceled because of the expected impact of Hurricane Helene.
The company’s presentation can be seen at vulcanjacksoncounty.com. Opponents of the quarry have set up websites at citizensforsustainablejackson.com and stopsouthjacksonrockquarry.net. In addition, Athens band Cicada Rhythm and others will perform at a concert to benefit the quarry opposition from 2–7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9 at a farm near the proposed site; tickets are available at cicadarhythm.com.
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