Harford County held a public hearing on Bill 24‑041, which would replace existing county‑specific buffers for mineral extraction and blasting with setback standards set forth in state regulations (COMAR and Maryland Department of the Environment permitting standards).

County staff said the change affects setback distances applied to surface mining permit areas and blasting activities. Staff summarized two relevant state standards discussed during the hearing: a 25‑foot setback for surface‑mine permit boundaries from adjacent property lines and a separate roughly 1,000‑foot setback that applies to blasting distances from occupied dwellings, schools, churches and hospitals under state mining regulations.

Speakers from Vulcan Materials, including Johnny Johnson (environmental manager) and Justin Stein (community and government relations), urged the council to adopt the change. Johnson described his experience managing environmental compliance for quarry operations and said state standards are appropriate because the Maryland Department of the Environment oversees surface‑mine permitting and enforcement. “The state standard will serve to allow quarry operations to continue to provide much needed aggregate to the area while doing so in a manner that protects the citizens, their neighborhoods, and the built environment around operating quarries,” Johnson said.

Stein said the quarry has operated in the area since the 1950s and described the facility as a major local supplier of riprap and armor stone for infrastructure projects. He urged the council to adopt the legislation so that county code mirrors the technical standards the state uses to license and monitor mines.

Council members asked staff and the public about noise and community complaints near the quarry and whether the bill would change existing protections. Staff replied that the quarry has an operational history with a limited number of community complaints and that the bill would fold county setbacks into the state’s existing requirements rather than expand blasting activity beyond permitted state limits.

The public hearing concluded after the two Vulcan speakers; the council will consider the bill at a later session.