County Citizen Pens Letter to Community Regarding Q-1 Zoning Changes.

The article below was written by concerned resident, founder of the Beechgrove Community Group, Jinan Robison. Robison has penned this letter to the public over the Q-1 Quarry Zoning Change, which you can read more about here.

“I am writing to let you know about a concern that has come up in our community. This is a long letter, but it’s worth the read.

It has been proposed that land near Underwood Drive will be used or rezoned to allow for a mining operation for natural material such as rock and minerals. While this seems minor to some, the long term effects of rezoning this land can be catastrophic to the residents, wildlife, and natural resources nearby.

Before this can happen there has to be a zoning law change which removes the protections provided to rural areas. What has been proposed is that Q1 zoning be implemented which would allow mining, landfills, rock quarries, and adult bookstores. This isn’t for any specific area, it would apply to the entirety of Coffee County and allow future industries to move in seamlessly.
A rock quarry would allow for blasting. This has many problems, a few are the increased noise level, the dispersal of toxic chemicals, microscopic debris which can cause respiratory issues, the increase traffic for our already busy roadways, and an overall decreased property value for anyone in the city of Beechgrove and boarding Rutherford and Cannon Counties.

According to research, “It is widely known that particulate matter pollutes the air and it is also associated with a variety of adverse health effects in humans (1–2).

These particulates can originate from stationary, mobile, or natural sources and its effects on human health vary depending on its size (3–4).
Particulate matter <2.5μm in diameter (fine particulates; PM2.5) and 10μm (coarse particulate; PM10) are strongly associated with respiratory diseases and other adverse health effects in humans, including hypertension and cardiovascular conditions, allergies and inflammatory reactions, and birth defects and deficiencies in child development (1, 5–6).

In addition, the elderly and people with emphysema, asthma, and chronic heart and lung diseases are especially sensitive to fine-particle pollution (7–9).

Numerous studies have linked elevated particle levels in the air to increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and premature deaths (7, 10).

Because children’s lungs and respiratory systems are still developing, they are also more susceptible than healthy adults to fine particles (11–13). These children or elderly can also be affected by the drastic air pressure change which can cause confusion. [57]

Rock extraction and truck transportation make quarry operation both a stationary and a mobile source of particulate matter, respectively (14–17).
A study from taiwan found high concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in a quarry’s neighbor surroundings (14).

In Wales, UK, a study found rock particulates between PM2.5 and PM10 and PM2.5 soot particulates from the diesel used in the explosions of a limestone quarry (15).

In fact, a major source of soot particulate in quarries is derived from the diesel exhaust of the trucks used to transport the extracted minerals (18).
Diesel engines emit a complex mixture of air pollutants, composed of a variety of harmful gases and solid materials which include carbon particles and over 40 other known cancer-causing substances (19–20).

Also, trucks disperse particulates to the surroundings when they transit the unpaved roads of quarries and from dispersion of their cargo (16–17).
Diesel exhaust and particulates from quarries are suspended in the air, thus exposure to these pollutants occurs whenever a person breathes air that contains these substances. Those living or spending time near the quarries or the roads with the diesel-truck traffic face exposure to higher levels of particulate matter and may face higher health risks (18, 21–22).

Multiple studies have shown that particulate matter pollution from quarry operation and diesel exhaust is associated with an increase of several diseases such as heart diseases, respiratory diseases, and several types of cancer (1, 7, 19, 21).

These statements are not hypothetical, fabricated, or make believe. On the contrary they are based on an epidemiological study monitoring the clinical conditions associated with Environmental Exposures in Puerto Rico which proved the community with higher environmental risk exposures from quarrying.

Outside of the health risks, which are numerous, there are many other notable issues that make a quarrying business an unwelcomed addition to the quiet town of Beechgrove and other areas not already within these zones.

The blasting can cause noise level pollution and will disrupt the natural wildlife. The physical creation of pits or quarries requires the removal of virtually all natural vegetation, top soil and subsoil to reach the aggregate underneath. Not only does this lead to a loss of existing animal wildlife, it also leads to a huge loss of biodiversity as plants and aquatic habitats are destroyed. Moreover, adjacent eco-systems are affected by noise, dust, pollution and contaminated water.

Pits and quarries disrupt the existing movement of surface water and groundwater; they interrupt natural water recharge and can lead to reduced quantity and quality of drinking water for residents and wildlife near or downstream from a quarry site.

Most old pits and quarries are not being properly rehabilitated. As noted in one study “less than half of the land disturbed for aggregate production between 1992 and 2001 has actually been rehabilitated.”[50]

Destroyed ecosystems and source water aquifers are irreplaceable.
A more detailed picture of the environmental impact of aggregate mining is outlined in a 2005 legal challenge to the expansion of an existing quarry in the Niagara Escarpment. The report focuses on the following potential environmental impacts:[51]

• Potential impairment of water quality on the site, including harm to the aquifer
• The water quality of residential wells close by could be harmed
• The water level of on-site lakes could be reduced, detrimentally affecting provincially specific wetlands
• Heightened summer water temperature in an on-site lake could have a detrimental impact on the
• viability of cold water fish in an adjacent stream
• Potential harm to on-site and off-site wetlands
• Loss of habitat for the Jefferson Salamander, which is designated as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act
• Potential loss and fragmentation of continuous natural environment
Of course, each pit or quarry has unique characteristics and impacts, but every pit or quarry will degrade the natural environment. For pits or quarries situated on lands designated as ecologically significant, this degradation has an even greater adverse impact. [52]

For communities, the displacement of water resources is one of the biggest concerns pits and quarries pose. However, there are many other concerns. Beyond the physical changes to the landscape, the daily barrage of noise, dust and exhaust produced by hundreds of dump trucks hauling aggregate can have serious effects on the health of people living nearby.[52]

As if the health impacts to community, the destruction of natural landscape, the depletion of biodiversity, the pollution of our air and waterways weren’t enough, one must consider the financial cost for the residents of Beechgrove.

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. Many other studies cite similar property value loses in this situation as well. [53][54]

This doesn’t even take into the fact that many homes are 100 years old and are still standing using rock foundations. The constant blasting will inevitably cause shifts in the ground and can cause structural damage to homes and barns. Who will be responsible for this damage? Will it be the company making millions from mining our beautiful land? Will it be the council who allows rezoning? No. We will all be on the hook for “unforeseen” damage and maintenance of our homesteads and despite the “safety precautions” we will be told exist, other towns and homes face large cracks and damage. [55]

When my family moved to Beechgrove almost 5 years ago, it was a retreat, a dream to have a quaint old farmhouse in the country with a little land for the kids to roam. We planted dozens of fruit trees and a small garden and have gradually improved our parcel and homestead. As a mother of four small children, it is my main mission to protect them from any foreseeable dangers. Their health is at the forefront of every single decision we as a family make. I will not sit ideally by, while a company aims to destroy the land that we have settled onto to raise our family. As a resident of Beechgrove, or surrounding counties affected, I urge you to take this concern seriously. Preventing the zoning request and permits will be much easier than the potentional medical treatments caused from ongoing environmental hazards that any sort of mining will cause.

Residents, I urge you to come to the meeting on September 22, at 4:30 PM at the Administrative Plaze in Manchester. 

Commissioners, I plead with you to protect the beautiful areas are hold so dearly. Vote no for any Q1 rezoning. 

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration,
Jinan Robison, Gossburg Road Resident”

CITATIONS (researched and posted by Jinan Robison)

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