Residents speak out about proposed quarry

The matter was brought up by the Area Plan Commission this week, who voted 7-3 to send it to the Putnam County Commissioners with no recommendation as to whether it was favorable or denied.

Several Putnam County residents are pushing back against a proposed quarry in Warren Township. 

The matter was brought up by the Area Plan Commission this week, who voted 7-3 to send it to the Putnam County Commissioners with no recommendation as to whether it was favorable or denied. County Commissioners are slated to bring the matter up Monday morning, but, according to resident Tracy Reed, that may not happen. 

Reed confirmed to The Putnam County Post that her and others have retained legal counsel, who will request the matter be tabled for 30 days. 

"Our counsel has asked for it to be tabled for 30 days. He will be there to represent us on Monday and be our voice," Reed said, adding there other issues as well. 

Many spoke up at the Area Plan Commission meeting, but Reed has been a driving force against the project. The land in question is approximately 200 acres owned by Hayman Holdings. The owners are seeking to rezone the land from an agricultural preservation district to natural resources for the purpose of extracting minerals with the purpose of the land becoming a limestone quarry. Eric Hayman is the owner of the land and the proposed quarry would be run by Greg Goud and Dean Boyd, former owners of 243 Quarry and Deer Creek Crushed Limestone. 

The proposed quarry would be in the area of County Road 700 South and 75 East and would be one of six quarries within a three mile radius of the land. 

Reed said there are many issues with the proposed quarry. To show the displeasure, Reed has sought out signatures for a petition against the quarry and had garnered over 370 signatures through Thursday. 

"We believe the rush to rezone this land is largely driven by economic interests. Developers see the potential for new projects and commercial ventures," Reed said. 

Reed said plans by POET Ethanol Plant to participate in carbon sequestration is also driving the rezone request. 

"One that CO2 is pumped underground, the fate of this land changes dramatically. This carbon storage project isn't just a noble environmental effort, it will have legal implications that control what can and cannot be done with that land in the future. After the CO2 is stored, zoning regulations around the area will shift based on environmental safety guidelines," Reed said. 

Reed also said the land could feature the remains of Miami Indians, as well as a cave system. 

"There are records of Miami Indians as well out here documented with Purdue. We are trying to get that documentation as well. DePauw documented the cave systems at one point. We are working on that as well. Those caves could house protected species of bats. This area has a very rich history," Reed said. 

Reed said in addition, there are issues with the roads and whether or not they can handle the truck traffic. 

"First, our county road is not built to handle the trucks and equipment that will be used to transport the crushed rock. The road after POET and the current quarry narrows down to around 18 feet and two normal vehicles can barely pass safely. Plus, when I-70 is shut down and traffic is diverted down this road, you would not believe the speed that people travel. If a semi were to crash, that would be unimaginable destruction," said Reed, adding it is her understanding a road study for safety was never done.

Reed said in addition at the plan commission meeting, it was presented that there is no water that will be impacted or wells. She said that is not true. 

"I want to point out that several natural underground springs run through this area. There is one that turns and flows right through the area that will be turned into the quarry and that flows into lower Limestone Creek," she said. 

Reed continued by saying the reason there are not wells is due to the fact the area has had many quarry blasts.

"At our own expense, we have had to have Reelsville water run down the road due to every time there was a blast, our wells would run dry," she said. 

In addition, the land is full of wildlife from turtles to wild game. 

"Much of this needs some sort of plan with DNR for habitat relocation to say the least, especially for the protected species," Reed said.