A group of East Limestone residents on Monday pressed elected officials for answers about blasting at a rock quarry operation in Huntsville-annexed Limestone County.

At least two-dozen people were on hand at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Limestone County Commission. They asked commissioners what and when they knew about blasting operations at the Rogers Group quarry near the intersection of Gray and Newby roads.

Commissioners told residents they were just as surprised to find out about the blasting as they had not been in communications with anyone from the city of Huntsville about the project. Nearly everyone who spoke lives near the quarry and is concerned about how blasting operations will impact the value of their property.

Holly Denenny told commissioners her house sits three-tenths of a mile off Gray Road and the blasts shook her home like an earthquake. Others who spoke drew similar comparisons.

“One of my neighbors told me her shower door cracked,” she said. “The first indication that a blast is too strong is you have glass break.”

Brenda Burgess, who lives on Locust Drive, worries the blasting will affect the foundation of her home. She came to Monday’s meeting with her granddaughter.

“When she’s outside playing on the swing set, they shake and it’s really scary,” she said.

Jim Hensley told commissioners he lived in southern California for 10 years and said the vibrations from the blasts are more intense than any earthquake he experienced.

“It’s not just the sound; it’s the shaking of the earth,” he said.

Rachel Pyle said she didn’t want her home value to decrease because of the blasting, but she also expressed concerns about the amount of heavy truck traffic caused by the quarry operation.

“I don’t want a kid to get run over,” she said.

Don Barksdale lives three-tenths of a mile from the blast site and told commissioners the sound was noticeable.

“The first day, I went down to the basement to see if my hot water heater had blown up,” he said.

Another resident, Paul Gibbs of Martin Branch Road, asked the commission why Rogers Group was being so secretive about their plans to blast. He said no one knew there was a quarry being constructed on the property.

“A husband and wife are both at work when it’s happening,” he said. “I use the term bomb because it hit twice. The first time, it knocked stuff off the shelf; the floor was shaking so bad.”

Many of those who spoke, including Jessica Anderson, want better communication about the project and the blasting. She and her husband have lived in Brentwood Village for four years and said they had no idea about the quarry operation.

“We have invested money in an inexpensive home and we had no idea about this,” she said. “There has been no communication or notification.”

Commissioners respond

The commissioners all listened patiently to each person who spoke, but ultimately said they didn’t know if they had the power to do anything. The specific area of concern is that of commissioners Steve Turner (District 2) and Jason Black (District 3).

Turner asked for patience from residents while the county continued to gather information about blasting and notification procedures. He has approached the city of Huntsville and asked if there was a method residents could be informed about when blasts would occur.

Black said he was unaware of many of the concerns voiced at Monday’s meeting and — just like the residents who spoke — he wants answers.

“We’re on the outside looking in right now, just like y’all are,” he said. “This was an eye-opening experience for me.”

Commissioners were asked if they benefited from the Rogers Group operation. The county does receive 10 cents per ton as part of the state’s mineral severance tax agreement. At Monday’s meeting, the commission also approved a bid for Rogers Group to provide the county with crushed limestone and crusher run limestone for road projects. Rogers Group was the lowest bidder for those items, however.

Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough said the county’s attorney is reviewing all information related to the project to find out if the county has any legal recourse to end blasting operations or receive notification about when they would occur.

Denenny told commissioners there were “a lot of voters” in her district, but Yarbrough said it would be unfair to “vote somebody out over something they didn’t have the power to do.”

Resolution

When asked after the meeting what a favorable resolution would be, Denenny said she would like for the quarry operation to shut down. She doesn’t see that as a realistic solution, however.

She would, however, like to see the county insist the trucks going in and out of the quarry to use Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road as opposed to Gray or Newby roads. Yarbrough argued the county couldn’t do that because reducing the weight limit could impact school buses, farmers or concrete trucks developing new Limestone County neighborhoods.

In April 2011, the commission approved a 15-ton weight limit restriction on Newby Road from Gray Road to U.S. 72 and on Newby Road from Mooresville Road to Gray Road, except for local deliveries. Farmers were exempt from the measure, which mainly restricted tri-axle dump trucks.

A county official at that time told The News Courier the tactic had been used before when Rogers Group opened the Crosskey rock quarry.

The weight limit restriction was rescinded, however, less than a month after it was approved. County Administrator Pam Ball said commissioners may have voted to reverse their decision to aid in cleanup operations after the April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak. She said minutes did not reflect an exact reason for the decision.