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Quarry

  • <strong>Blasting will occur 1-2 times/week</strong>. Dust will deposit over several miles.
  • <strong>Geryville Materials proposing 628+ acre Quarry</strong> situated at the intersection of West Mill Hill Road and Kings Highway.
  • <strong>Blast Vibrations Can Be Felt for a Large Distance</strong> The noise and vibration can damage historical homes in the area.
  • <strong>Quarry is one of most dangerous industrial operations</strong> Many injuries and deaths reported each year.
  • <strong> Geryville Materials wants Asphalt Plant</strong> More environment and traffic problems will result.
  • <strong> Geryville wants concrete mixing plant </strong>Noise from crushers and trucks  will pose economic hardships on residents

Devalued Real Estate

People worldwide oppose proposals for the development of new quarries or the expansion of existing facilities in their neighborhoods. The opposition is understandable. 
Operators of pits and quarries remove virtually all vegetation, topsoil and subsoil to access the resource. In so doing, they remove any natural habitat that may have been on site, and disrupt pre-existing stream flows . . . The extraction of aggregate resources changes the slope of the land and alters water drainage patterns . . . Once the aggregate is extracted . . . water storage capacity is lost. Aggregate operations . . . are characterized by the release of significant amounts of particular matter (i.e. dust) and noise pollution from extraction and processing activities as well as smog precursors and greenhouse gases from the operation of heavy equipment and machinery. The heavy truck traffic to and from aggregate sites is often a serious
hazard and nuisance affecting people over wider areas, and is a significant source of air pollution itself.  --Pembina Institute, 2005

 

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Zoning Board Hearings on Quarry Delayed

The Zoning Board Hearings regarding the application to build a quarry at West Mill Hil has been postponed until there is a resolution of the appeal of the Commonwealth Court of the Planning Commision decision. The Township has appealed the decision and LMRA has joined in the appeal. Since the decision has a important influence on how both parties will proceed, it was agreed to wait to see what the outcome will be before proceeding.

Real Estate

The building of a quaryy will significantly affect the home values in the area. Studies has shown the effect occurs up to 5-8 miles from the quarry site. In addition increased trafic of quarry dump trucks through neighborhood with houses only a few feet from the road, e.g., Limeport and some place in the Hosensack area, shoud be adversely affected.

This section presents information on how a quarry can affect our Township.

Do We Need a New Quarry in Pennsylvania?

Geryville Materials desire to build a quarry on West Mill Hill Rd in Lower Milford Township is based on two arguments according to their testimony at various hearings.

  • They deserve to make a profit from their land; a quarry is the way they want to do it.
  • They would lower the cost of stone to the Pennsylavia Department of Transportation.

The first reason begs the question as to whether their desire to maximize profit at the cost of millions of dollars to residents surrounding the site is justified. Their greed to get as money much money as possible because "they can" will be the subject of a future article.

The second reason presumes that the location of a quarry will provide stone that cannot be obtained from existing quarries and transported to the worksite at a competitive price. That would imply that there are insufficient quarries to bid on stone delivery contracts in our area. Otherwise, "what the market will bear" is what the cost will be. The difference between the winning bid price cost of miing, preparing, and delivery determines their profit;. In addition, Geryville Materials will be contracting with a quarry operator, almost certainly with Haines & Kibblehouse, to operate the property. Thus, added cost will be incurred to pay to pay thm to run the facility. Qualitatively, the issue is whether there are sufficient quarries to provide stone in our area so that bids can't be sole sourced and not cost advantage should be the criteria to determine the need fo another quarry.

How Many Active Quarries Are there in Pennsylvania?

Active Quarries in PAThere are currently 3182 active quarry sites in Pennsylania. These are catagorized by DEP as

  • Specialty stone and short term mining--- 115  of these active mines.
  • Smaller facilities up to 2000 tons per day -- 1611 sites
  • Intermediate facilities up to 10000 tons/day -- 517 sites
  • Large surface mines that can produce greater that 10000 tons per day -- 937 mines

 

Read More...Do We Need a new QuarryDo We Need a New Quarry in Pennsylvania?

Property Values Decrease When a Quarry is Built

Property values drop when a quarry is built. Over the past twenty years, the evidence is clear. Scientific methods have been developed to account for other factors such as the size and location of the property, the local environment, age of the house etc., so that the effect of property value changes caused only by the quarry can be calculated. The value of property decreases most within the immediate vicinity but will be felt several miles away. Homes within a quarter mile will drop by about 30%. A mile away the value of homes will decrease by about 13%, Home as far as 3 miles away can expect about a 6% drop in value.

Property Value loss

 On average, property within a mile of the quarry will lose about 19% of its value as soon as a quarry begins. For example, a $350,000 home will lose about $67,000 if it is within a mile of the quarry. For Lower Milford Township, this loss translates to more that $6 million loss in property value with its attendant loss in local taxes, change in the type and mix of new construction, and other effects. These losses do not account for loses in other areas where truck traffic, dust, noise will contribute to further loss in property value.

More: Property Values Decrease When a Quarry is Built

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LMRAYou membership helps pay for our legal defense. Also, strong community support is notice  to Geryville Materials that we will not permit destruction of our Township.

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