A couple of new proposed rock quarries, along with some other businesses, have area residents asking the County Commission to take another look at implementing zoning around the county. Citizens say the county needs to have a way of regulating certain businesses that are infringing on the rights and quality of life of neighboring homeowners.
A quarry by Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete Company off of Highway 70 on North Driver Road in the Snow Hill area, made news last month after blasting from the site caused a blast wave, and sent debris onto the highway.
Another company, Jones Brothers Construction LLC, is also in the permitting stage for a quarry operation at 2159 Old Highway 53, between Liberty and Alexandria. Residents there worry about wells in the area, as well as the conditions of a couple of streams that flow to Helton and Smith Fork Creeks.
During a meeting of the County Commission’s Health, Education, and Public Welfare Committee on September 16, several residents spoke about their concerns about the quarries being so close to their homes and farms.
Max Knudsen, who lives near the SRM quarry on South Driver Road, addressed the committee saying he and his neighbors will be affected by silica dust
“I don’t even know what nuisance you call that,” said Knudsen. “It affects your eyeballs. It affects your kidneys. It affects your lungs. It is sharp and jagged and its going to leave a mark in every soft tissue you have. I can’t farm anymore where I live. Forget about if I get sick. I will not subject my goats to that. I will not subject my clients in Nashville who come to cuddle my baby goats because they will be covered in silica dust. I am the closest neighbor to this very dangerous and toxic monstrosity, and this is damaging me,” said Knudsen.
This reporter, Chris Tramel, who lives near the proposed Jones Brothers Alexandria Quarry, also spoke at the meeting.
“I have a quarry trying to come in behind me. It used to be good fences made good neighbors but now quarries are coming in and companies are burning pallets in Dowelltown and Liberty. They are not our neighbors. They are not from here. Fences don’t stop smoke, dust, and poisoning your well.”
“A few years ago, we had a chicken plant try to move in. I don’t want a chicken plant next to me. I know where one is at and you don’t want to be within five miles of it. Right now, there is not anything to stop them from putting it right next to one of your houses. These people are what my granddaddy would call carpetbaggers. They don’t live here. They come in and take advantage of us because we are letting them. Let’s do something.”
Lucas Antoniak of Old Snow Hill Road said, “SRM has a history of lying to the government and obfuscating to government regulators. Coincidentally, I was across from an SRM quarry in Woodbury doing a craft fair last weekend, and there was a cloud of dust blowing all weekend coming of that quarry and in the creek, it was full of sediment, and they were not even operating. They are not making efforts. They do not care about us. They are just here to make money,” said Antoniak.
Committee Chairman Larry Green stated that the County Powers Act, which was looked at initially, could be used to regulate grievances over garbage piled up, junk cars, and other nuisances, it would not work for quarry complaints. He told the committee that zoning would address the situation, something that surrounding counties have already implemented.
“As far as a rock crusher coming in, the County Powers Act is not going to stop it,” Green said “Even if we had it in effect when it came in it still wouldn’t stop it. The state exempts from the County Powers Act surface mining, production of oil and gas, and activities covered by environmental protection regulations dealing with air pollution, atomic energy, and solid waste disposal and management,” explained Green.
“If we adopted zoning, it would do more to prevent things like that (quarries) from coming in than anything we could do with the County Powers Act. It would not stop anything here now. We could just prevent something undesirable from coming in the future. Cannon County and Smith County have already done it,” said Green.
According to Green, Cannon County implemented zoning in order to keep a landfill out from neighboring Rutherford County. “Cannon County did it because the landfill in Murfreesboro is always up for discussion on whether they want to close it or not, and they don’t want it to come to Cannon County. Zoning would stop things like that from coming in,” said Green.
“We could zone everything either agriculture, single family residential, commercial, or industrial,” Green explained. “Let’s say somebody came in and wanted to buy a big farm to put in an industry or anything else. It would have to go before the planning commission or zoning commission to be rezoned after public hearings.”
The committee then voted to recommend to the county commission that the regional planning commission develop a plan of zoning regulations outside the municipalities that already have zoning.
The committee’s recommendation was presented at last Monday’s County Commission meeting, where several local residents also spoke up in favor of zoning. After some discussion, the commission voted to send the recommendation to the planning commission to work out the criteria for zoning regulations. Afterwards, the measure would come back to the commission where a public hearing would be held.
