Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
May 10, 2007 issue
Proposed Rock Quarry in Avery County
Meets Public Resistance
Story by Ron Fitzwater
A citizens’ group opposes a 161-acre rock quarry proposed for the top of Burleson Bald Mountain. The quarry, which would be operated by RC Landholdings, would include drilling and crushing sites.
At the, May 7, meeting, Avery County Board of Commissioners Chair Kenny Poteat stated he has personally received 45 letters in protest of the planned business. “People are concerned first and foremost with health and safety issues. After that they are concerned with property devaluation and aesthetics,” he said.
The Unincorporated Citizens Association to Save Wildcat Cliffs is actively fighting the project by way of the Internet.
At www.stopquarry.org, the association outlines its concerns. The site states, “A gravel quarry would devastate a pristine mountain and ruin a scenic rock outcropping called Wildcat Cliffs, popular with hikers.” The association also identifies Environmental concerns, including the destruction of wildlife habitat and small stream contamination from silt that would threaten fish and other aquatic life such as native brook trout that live in White Oak Creek and other small streams near the site. Additionally, the association is concerned that granite dust from the blasting and crushing operations, the loading of trucks and the transportation of gravel along roadways will affect air quality and the health of residents.
Groundwater is another concern because the quarry application calls for excavations of granite up to a depth of 350 feet. The association maintains that contamination and a decrease in water flowing into the North Toe River could compromise groundwater that supplies the wells for homes near the site.
An additional health and safety issue stems from heavy equipment traffic. “Area roads are not constructed for such activities. This traffic and the dust created by mining and transporting gravel could cause health problems for residents near the site,” according to the association.
Noise and visual and economic impact are also concerns. The association website notes, “Beyond the loss of property values for residents, the mine will cause a loss of tourism dollars by ruining the scenic beauty of the area.” In addition feared the quarry could harm the homebuilding market in Avery County, “currently adding more than $100 million in annual new construction to the county’s tax base, as potential new residents decide to locate elsewhere,” according to the association.
A public hearing will be held Monday, May 14 at the Avery County Commissioners’ boardroom at 6:30 p.m. and a state public hearing will be held Tuesday, May 22, at the County Courthouse at 7:00 p.m.