Quarry Expansion's OK Draws Local Criticism

Despite opposition, the commissioners approved a special-use permit Tuesday night allowing American Stone Co. and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to expand an existing rock quarry in Hillsborough.

When American Stone stops drilling in 2030, OWASA will turn the quarry into a reservoir for local water needs. Officials say the area will be in dire need of additional sources of water as the area grows.

"The OWASA board of directors has determined that the extended stone quarry reservoir is the most desirable option for meeting the long-term water supply needs of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community," said Ed Kerwin, executive director of OWASA.

But Elliot Cramer, a retired UNC statistics professor, disagreed that the county will run out of water in 2030. Cramer claims that OWASA's estimates that population growth will explode in Chapel Hill and Carrboro are incorrect.

"Exponential growth is utterly absurd," Cramer said. "That's the way rabbits multiply. Communities don't grow that way."

The expansion will move quarry operations, including high-impact blasting, closer to residents' homes in the area of Parrish Road.

American Stone and OWASA will be required to reimburse some residents for devaluation of property and damage to wells, but only those whose homes are within a 3,000-foot radius of the quarry and were constructed before the quarry was established in 1978 will qualify for compensation.

Erwin Danziger, who owns property near the expansion site, criticized the 3,000-foot radius stipulation as arbitrary.

"Up to a mile and a half away you can feel the ground shake," he said.

Danziger said the existing quarry would provide more than enough capacity for the county's continuing water needs.

"There is no question that there is a 3 billion gallon reservoir there for OWASA," he said. "The only reason to do this is for American Stone to make a big profit."

But Commissioner Barry Jacobs said no one is sure what kind of growth the county will experience in the coming years.

"There is a good chance that we will be a much more coordinated county in terms of water use by then, and basing an estimate on just Chapel Hill and Carrboro seems very nearsighted," he said.

But Cramer was adamant that the county's future water needs could be met without expanding the quarry.

"OWASA has a current quarry capacity of over 1.5 billion gallons, and in about 12 to 15 years of additional mining, it could be 3 billion," he said.

"This is enough water to last probably to about 2080, assuming no slowing of growth in the community."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.