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Planning Commission recommends approval of proposed Lewisville-area quarry after hours of public comment
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Summary
After an extended public hearing with dozens of residents citing air, water and traffic concerns, Columbia County planners recommended approval of a rezoning to allow a new aggregate quarry off Lewisville Road, forwarding the proposal to the Board of Commissioners with conditions including monitoring and buffer requirements.
The Columbia County Planning Commission voted Dec. 18 to recommend approval of a rezoning that would allow an aggregate quarry on multiple parcels off Lewisville Road, Baker Place and I-20, forwarding the matter to the Board of Commissioners for final action on Jan. 6, 2026.
Staff summarized the project as a large-scale mining operation with roughly 90 acres of active pits, three proposed mining pits, and about 167 acres to remain undeveloped. Consultants for the applicant told commissioners the operation would include mobile processing plants at first, berms and tree plantings as visual and noise buffers, and a reclamation plan intended to return parts of the site to open-water or other post-mining uses. The applicant’s presentation included a traffic study projecting an average of 100–125 trucks per day and peak AM/PM trips of about 48; a preliminary air-quality estimate of roughly 15 tons per year of PM10 and 2.3 tons per year of PM2.5; and a plan to use seismographs (staff recommended five monitoring locations) to document blasting vibration and overpressure.
Residents filled the public-comment period. Dr. Morgan Groot, who lives near the proposed site, told the commission she feared long-term health harms for children from fine particulate matter, saying the peer-reviewed literature shows “consistent associations between residential proximity to quarries and increased respiratory symptoms.” Other neighbors described prior blasting at an existing area quarry — reporting house vibration, cracked foundations and repeated alarms — and raised additional concerns about private wells, septic-system impacts, noise and nighttime truck traffic. ‘‘This is a bell that cannot be unrung,’’ one resident told the commission, describing the cumulative effect of proposed quarries and other construction in the district.
Applicant representatives, including David Grayson of Quality Materials, emphasized regulatory oversight and the studies they had prepared. Grayson said much of the property would be left undisturbed, that berms and landscaping would limit visibility, and that permitting would require state and federal approvals including Georgia EPD reviews and Clean Water Act compliance. Staff noted the project must also submit a surface-mining plan, water-quality certifications, blasting and air-quality controls and a surety bond for reclamation.
Commissioners discussed mitigation measures and conditions recommended by staff — including survey and buffer requirements, traffic and access coordination with GDOT, specified left/right turn improvements where needed, seismograph monitoring, air and noise mitigation, and a reclamation plan to be approved prior to land-disturbance permits. After public comment and questions from commissioners, a motion to recommend approval carried on a voice vote. The commission’s recommendation and staff’s conditions will go to the Board of Commissioners for final action on Jan. 6, 2026.
What’s next: The rezoning and associated conditions will be considered by the Board of Commissioners at its January meeting. If the board approves the rezoning, federal and state permitting for mining, water quality and air emissions would be required before land-disturbance permits are issued.
