A rock fight may be brewing in Baldwin County.
More than one, actually. Paperwork recently was submitted to the Baldwin County Planning and Development Department for a pair of proposed rock quarries, one off of Ga. 212 and one near the Gordon Highway.
The latter is located at 531 Pancras Road, an 800-acre tract currently owned by the Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest owners and operators of timber property. Weyerhaeuser certainly had plenty of parcels to choose from in Baldwin County, as it owns almost 5,000 acres in the county, including massive tracts on Nelson Road, Cox Woodland Road, Fox Hill Road, and Old Monticello Road.
Weyerhaeuser recently filed for a land disturbance permit at 531 Pancras Road. Reads the “description” of the permit: “Construction and development of an aggregate quarry for the extraction, crushing and processing of rock for use in construction materials.” Wayerhauser also is proposing “an open mine pit, overburden/waste/ spoilage piles, a rail/spur loop and bridge crossing over Little Camp Creek.”
Also submitted to the Planning & Development Department recently were site plans for a rock quarry at 241 Avery Store Road, located off of Ga. 212. The property is 592 acres. The original land disturbance permit for the site was filed by “Betty Walker.” Meanwhile, “Betty S. Walker” is listed as the owner of the property, according to courthouse records. Walker currently is in the process of selling the property.
For property owners along Avery Store Road and nearby Nelson Road, the rumors began ramping up a few weeks ago. Michelle Kent, who lives on Nelson Road, is one of the neighbors leading the charge. According to Kent’s research, the project is being led by three investors, who are all from the area.
“It’s important to remember that this will impact a much larger area – Little Road, Old Plantation (Trail), Montego Bay (Road), others areas. There would be vibrations from the blasts, silica dust released into the air and disruptions to the water table,” Kent said. “Plenty of people should be concerned.”
Marion Nelson is another concerned neighbor, and his property would border the quarry. Nelson, a retired Department of Natural Resources agent, says that he and his neighbors “are just now in the beginning stages of organizing.”
“Many people who live out here have invested a great deal into building a home and building a life here,” Nelson said. “We live here because we prefer the quiet, rural atmosphere. It’s a quality of life issue, more than anything.”
Nelson said that he’s also concerned “about watershed runoff directly into Lake Sinclair,” adding that Panther Branch Creek and Sand Creek both would be impacted by the development.
County Commissioner Scott Little, whose district covers northwest Baldwin, began receiving phone calls about a weekand- a-half ago. In turn, Little rallied other county commissioners to enact a 180-day moratorium on “the acceptance of applications and the issuance of land disturbance permits, variances, licenses...related to uses or activities associated with mining sites and the removal of minerals and natural materials from the earth.” That moratorium was approved by a 5-0 vote at the July 21 regular meeting.
“Basically, what it’s saying is that we’re giving it six months to study the issue and then determine the direction to go in at that point,” said Commissioner Sammy Hall.
Added Little: “This is not to say that we’re closed for business. It’s just to say that, hey, we need to slow down and be able to wrap our arms around this and how to move forward correctly.”
Meanwhile, next door in Putnam County, a proposed rock quarry on Dennis Station Road has been met with plenty of organized resistance. Opponents of the project, dressed in red, packed a Putnam County Planning & Zoning meeting earlier this month, and the tension was palpable.
If similar scenes ultimately play out here in Baldwin County, they would happen during county commission meetings, as Baldwin County has no Planning & Zoning board or formal zoning statutes.