ADEM holds public hearing on proposed Grayson Carter limestone quarry air and discharge permits in Tuscumbia

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management held a joint public hearing Oct. 23 at the Tuscumbia Railway Roadhouse to accept oral testimony and written comments on a proposed air permit (7010065X001) and a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (AL0084523) for Grayson Carter and Son Contracting Inc., for a proposed limestone quarry listed in the permit application at 1809 Vargas Lane, Pascobia, Alabama 35674.

ADEM hearing officer Alexander Chambers opened the meeting and said the agency will accept oral testimony tonight and consider written comments submitted before the close of the public comment period. “This hearing is an opportunity for members of the public to offer comments to help ensure that all relevant factors are considered before a final permit decision is made,” Chambers said. He noted the department’s role is limited to evaluating compliance with applicable environmental statutes and regulations and that the hearing was being transcribed and recorded for the department’s record.

Dodie Mosley, chief of the petroleum unit in ADEM’s Construction Materials Section, summarized the air permit review for the agency’s Air Division. Mosley said the application covers equipment for “crushing, screening, and conveying of limestone” and that dust controls proposed include wet suppression systems at crushers, screens and conveyor transfer points and wet suppression on internal site traffic. “Any dust generated from the facility’s operation would be in quantities that would define the facility as a minor source under the state and federal air pollution permitting programs,” Mosley said, and the department’s draft air permit was developed in accordance with state and federal requirements, including federal new-source performance standards administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and implemented by ADEM in Alabama.

Robert Glover, an environmental engineering specialist in ADEM’s Mining and Natural Resources Section in the Water Division, described the draft NPDES/MPDES permit. Glover said the draft permit would authorize treated effluent discharges from two proposed outfalls to waters the application identifies as Dry Creek and Spring Creek, both classified in the application as suitable for fish and wildlife. He said ADEM’s preliminary determination is that compliance with the proposed MPDES permit conditions “will not result in violations of applicable state water quality standards,” but that the department’s authority is limited to water-quality-related permit conditions.

Representing the applicant, Tim Morris, identified himself as a special project manager for Grayson Carter and Son Contracting Inc. He said the company employs more than 650 people and expects the new Tuscumbia location to create approximately 75 additional jobs within the first 18 months. “We take our responsibility to protect the quality of your air and water seriously,” Morris said, adding the company had submitted required environmental data and believed it met permitting requirements.

Residents who spoke at the hearing raised concerns outside the narrow technical scope ADEM considers in permit decisions. Kenneth Lorton, who said his property borders the proposed permitted area, told the hearing that he had circulated a petition with more than 40 signatures opposing the project and asked whether blasting could occur anywhere within the permitted boundary. “If there are no restrictions on that, then they could literally be blasting within 50 feet of a structure that I own,” Lorton said. He also asked that ADEM require a geological study addressing radon and karst (underground limestone) conditions, and he referenced a state code provision permitting property inspections within a half-mile after certain blasting events.

Sue Westleiter, who said her property backs an existing quarry operated by Rogers Quarry, described sinkholes and alleged well impacts that she and neighbors attribute to prior quarrying. “We feel the rumbling of the blast throughout our whole house when it happens,” she said, and asked how an additional quarry nearby would affect those conditions.

ADEM staff repeatedly noted limitations on what the agency may consider in this permitting action. Mosley said the department does not have zoning authority and cannot consider traffic, property values, noise or blasting when deciding the air permit; she said blasting is regulated by the State Fire Marshal. Glover made similar remarks for water permitting, saying ADEM’s authority is limited to regulation of discharges to waters of the state.

Alexander Chambers and ADEM staff said the department had made preliminary determinations to propose issuance of the draft air and MPDES permits but that those determinations would be reconsidered after review of the hearing record and all written comments. The hearing record, final permit determination, and ADEM’s response to comments will be posted on the department’s eFile system, and the video of the proceeding will be posted on ADEM’s YouTube channel.

The transcript records oral comments taken that evening and notes that written comments submitted by postal or electronic mail will be given the same consideration as oral remarks; the transcript does not specify the calendar date when the public comment period closes (see clarifying details).