As debate continues over a proposed rock quarry in southwest Putnam County, John Cross, co-owner of Putnam County Stone, said his goal is simple: answer questions and earn trust.
Speaking last Thursday at the county administration building during the second of two public information sessions to address issues like truck traffic, potential environmental damage, ambient noise, destructive mining practices, and local control, Cross addressed many of these concerns with visiting citizens and county officials.
“We want to make sure that everybody who has questions gets answers,” he said. “We’ve hired a bunch of experts in all these different areas that people have concerns about.”
Cross also addressed the partnership between his company, Turnkey Processing Solutions, and business partner Hans Dawson. They are seeking county approval to develop a granite quarry through their jointly owned firm, Synergy Materials, off Dennis Station Road opposite the existing Interfor wood-processing plant.
Cross said the project has been years in the making, and even if approved, it remains almost two years away from operating. He estimates the effort is about “40 percent of the way through the process,” having completed drilling, environmental reviews, traffic studies, pump tests, and noise and vibration analyses.
“We’re still really doing this analysis just to see if it's viable,” he said. “If we run into a fatal flaw at any point in the plan, we’re out of here.”
Still, according to Cross, early studies showed that the rock quality and depth are suitable, that setbacks from wetlands, creeks, and property lines allow for a feasible operation, and that blasting would operate at what he called “less than 10 percent of the regulatory limits” for nearby neighborhoods.
However, noise remains a frequent concern raised by residents. Cross stressed the company has committed to keeping operations at or below 70 decibels at the property line, which he called “roughly the level of a normal conversation.”
“We think it’s reasonable that anybody who owns a piece of property ought to be able to have a conversation at their property line,” he said. “And in practice, what we’ve learned is we can actually do better than that.”
Plans include building earthen berms from stripped topsoil to shield the site both visually and aurally. Cross added that plantings would also be added to the berms to create a manicured streetside appearance, and equipment such as rubber-lined screens and electronic blasting delays would also help to limit ambient noise and vibration.
“A modern quarry can operate where people that are relatively close wouldn’t even know it was there,” Cross claimed.
He acknowledged that increased truck traffic in the area would probably impose the most obvious impact on nearby residents, but added the question. Still, he added, committed to widening portions of the roadway near the site, to adding on-site truck waiting lanes so vehicles do not queue on the shoulder as they currently are forced to do outside Interfor, and to constructing an acceleration lane for safer entry northbound onto Dennis Station Road.
Concrete barriers will be constructed to prevent loaded trucks from turning south toward Twin Bridges Road, Cross added; however, empty trucks could still approach from the south to enter the quarry, where they would then park and wait for loading.
Cross claimed that while traffic may increase in a short stretch near the quarry, overall truck mileage in the county would decrease because aggregate currently has to be hauled in from other counties.
Economically, Cross said the quarry would generate more than $330,000 annually in local tax revenue — though whether that would all go to Putnam County coffers remains debatable — and would create jobs starting at about $25 an hour, with some hourly positions approaching $40.
“These are good jobs,” Cross stated. “You can raise a family, have a nice house, have a couple of nice vehicles, have a good life.”
Cross acknowledged Putnam County Stone may have to bring in experienced quarry managers to get the Putnam County operation going, but said he fully expects to hire locally and train workers from surrounding communities for leadership roles as soon as possible.
“The perfect situation is to have the people who are managing things are actually neighbors,” he said.
The proposed quarry footprint would eventually cover about 91 acres, with only seven or eight acres disturbed at the outset and the remainder disturbed gradually over time. Cross described it as a relatively small quarry by industry standards.
One of the more sensitive issues recently raised by residents involves a historic cemetery located on the property. Cross said the burial site would not be disturbed.
“Typically, what we do is fence it off, and we’ll actually build a road out to it, so if anybody wants to come and visit, they’ve got access,” he said.
Additionally, rather than placing a fence along any grave boundaries, Cross said the company plans to establish an approximate 100-foot buffer in all directions before installing fencing to create a larger, defined, and protected area around all burial sites, well away from the mining footprint.
Cross also said an archaeological study was conducted as part of the due diligence process to identify any additional cultural or burial sites.
“We hired a company that specializes in that because it’s another one of those things that if we run into a big problem like that, we just say this is not going to work out,” he said, adding that the cemetery is the only burial site identified so far.
Water impacts are another recurring worry for quarry neighbors, Cross acknowledged. He referenced a prior quarry acquisition in which neighboring wells were affected, an issue that predated Dawson’s ownership. He said Dawson spent approximately $3.5 million out of pocket to provide hotel stays for affected residents while replacement wells were established.
“He (Dawson) had a chance to do the right thing, and he did the right thing,” Cross stated while acknowledging the event led to Dawson pursuing reimbursement from his insurance company through legal channels.
He then emphasized that the Dennis Station Road site sits in tight granite rather than porous limestone and that pump tests indicate there would likely be no-to-minimal long-term effects on local groundwater.
He added, though, that he understands nearby residents’ fears.
“You have to earn trust,” he said. “But I can’t just come in here and say I know the answer right now. That takes time.”
Whether the project clears Putnam County zoning and permitting hurdles remains to be seen in the days and weeks ahead. For now, Cross said he and Dawson will continue to be accessible to residents, answering questions and making their case that the quarry’s benefits outweigh the costs.