Public commenter cites Alabama statute and killed local bill while urging protections from quarry blasting

At the Limestone County Commission work session, resident Kelly Dye urged commissioners to use their zoning authority to block blasting near historic structures and said a local bill that would have restricted blasting within two miles of historic buildings was defeated in a county committee in April 2024.

Dye read from Alabama law and told commissioners that Alabama Code §45-42-260 permits the Limestone County Commission to divide unincorporated territory into zones, including zones where blasting may be regulated. She said a local bill introduced by Representative Parker Moore, Republican District 4, proposed restricting blasting sites from within two miles of any structure designated as historic; Dye said the bill was "killed" in a standing committee and that failure to limit blasting would threaten multiple historical sites and communities she named.

Dye said the defeated measure would have blocked a proposed rock quarry near Belt (referred to by the speaker as in the Belmica/Belmina community) and would have protected "more than 30 historical sites throughout Limestone County." She urged commissioners not to side with industrial interests at the expense of residents.

The chairman replied that the public-comment period is not the forum for back-and-forth question and answer and did not engage in specific debate on zoning policy in the recorded work session. Kelly Dye said she had sent emails to the commission that went unanswered and that the silence was "very telling and very discouraging."

The transcript does not record any formal commission action on zoning or quarry permitting during the work session; Dye's remarks were presented as public comment requesting the commission and staff consider protective zoning or other measures.

Commissioners and staff did not state a next step on the record during the public comment portion of the work session.