For nearly two years, a proposed rock quarry has loomed large in the Jackson County community.
The proposed quarry from Vulcan Materials Company is for a roughly 900-acre quarry in the southern part of the county in the unincorporated community of Center.
In a meeting that lasted until around 12:30 a.m., the Jackson County Planning Commission ultimately decided to recommend denying Vulcan’s request for Special Use for the proposed quarry to the Jackson County Commission.
Signs could be seen across southern Jackson County for months leading up to the meeting, which saw over 100 people in attendance.
Randy Durham, a resident just a few miles down the road from the proposed site, is a member of Stop the South Jackson Rock Quarry. When asked how the community has felt about the proposal, he had a poignant response.
“Mostly it’s anger,” Durham said. “Because they want to come in and destroy our rural way of life.”
The biggest concern for the people who decided to make public comments in opposition was noise, air quality, water quality, and property values degrading.
Another point of contention for many residents at the meeting was Vulcan’s environmental record.
On their Jackson County website, Vulcan said they are “a responsible steward of the environment.” What residents wanted answers to; however, was Vulcan’s environmental-related offenses.
According to Good Jobs First’s Violation Tracker, Vulcan Materials and their subsidiaries have accrued 36 environmental-related offenses since 2000, with a fine total of $3.1-million.
Vulcan is the 12th largest United States-based company in the simple materials sector by market cap according to Yahoo Finance.
Out of the top-20, Vulcan is tied for 13th in amount of violations and 15th in fine amount.
“It’s laughable, and all it does is make you question anything they say,” Durham said.
When asked about the fines, Vulcan’s Director of Communications Jack Bonnikson said that it’s the nature of such a big operation.
“Violations and citations can happen. It’s a nature of an industrial, large-scale operation,” Bonnikson said. “But for us, we are proud of our track record and continue to be industry leaders in these areas and taking great care from all of our operations in Georgia and beyond.”
The Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC) published their final developments of regional impact (DRI) report on Oct. 3.
In the report, they got a lay of the land. They defined the area as “primarily woodlands and vacant land...” They also noted the presence of two lakes and a creek located on the proposed site with the North Oconee River forming a portion of the site’s southern border.
The eight parcels in question are in the process of being purchased by Vulcan, pending a “yes” vote from the Jackson County Commission. Five of those parcels currently have homes on them.
“The proposed mining site is located next to this character area, which could negatively impact the area’s environmental quality due to dust, noise, and runoff,” the report reads.
Bonnikson noted the fact that Vulcan has been operating in Jackson County for over two years in the northern part of the county with hope for a continued investment.
“We want to make sure wherever we operate, it’s in the best interest of the county,” Bonnikson said. “We’re really proud of the investment and the thought that has gone into this.”
Bonnikson also said that Vulcan’s studies showed minimal impact to the environment and the community.
He did add that some studies were conducted by in-house Vulcan experts and others were third-party experts.
The planning commission had a loaded agenda due to Hurricane Helene, and got to the quarry issue at around 8:30 p.m.
At the meeting, Vulcan had Athens-based attorney David Ellison as external counsel to speak to the planning commission.
Ellison made the point that there was no tax burden for the project, and even cited community economic benefits.
Vulcan’s community benefits development agreement highlighted:
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The conservation area
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A payment to Jackson County of $500,000 for use of parks and open space
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15,000 tons of graded aggregate base per year for 10 years
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A second payment of $1-million on the fifth anniversary of an initial $500,000 payment to mitigate the impact of costs on the facilities and infrastructure
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Providing neighbors within two miles up to 20 tons per year of material from the site
Ellison also made claims to the planning commission that there is no risk to watersheds and that Vulcan goes above and beyond what the law requires.
Vulcan’s plan included a roughly 200-acre conservation and recreation area, with only about 10-percent allocated toward mining across the eight parcels.
The planning commission then questioned Ellison about what Vulcan planned to do with the roughly 60-percent unaccounted for land.
Each side was given roughly 80 minutes to speak, 10 for each parcel.
The opposition saw 16 speakers including a former member of the Jackson County Planning Commission, a University of Georgia Hydrology and Water Resources professor, two members from the Oconee River Land Trust, and a slew of concerned residents near the site.
Dr. Todd Rasmussen, the UGA professor and Tim Wilson, the former Jackson County Planning Commission member had a combined effort showcasing the potential impact to the groundwater recharge area.
The planning commission’s recommendation of denial will now be taken into account by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in a Nov. 18 voting session.
