FW_ _External_ Mining Permit 92-10 - Please reinstate Sunset Clause for Wake Stone Quarry

Johnson, Robert E
From: Sams, Dan
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:41 PM
To: NCMiningProgram
Subject: FW: [External] Mining Permit 92-10 - Please reinstate Sunset Clause for Wake Stone
Quarry
From: Teresa Moore [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:26 PM
To: Sams, Dan <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] Mining Permit 92-10 - Please reinstate Sunset Clause for Wake Stone Quarry
Dan Sairns,
Dear Governor Cooper, otlheir elected offiic4ls, Dan Sairns:
I'm wir9itiing with a stroing concern about the (proposed anew irock quarry on
public Ilaind adjacent to Umstead State Park, as well as a concern about
the existing Welke Stone quarry, which has operated for 40 years
II Illisteined duirliing the (public Iheairliing on June 23, for Ihouirs, as Ipeirsoin after
peirsoin spoke up AGAINST this quarry, citing irnainy ireasoins it should be
denlied... eveirytlhling from the adverse effects on Ipotable groundwater,
willdlllife, air g,ualllity, Ihazaird to ineliglhlboirliing Ihouses, and adverse effect on
the Ipuirpose of a IpulbNlicily owined Ipairk. Just oine of these should be a
reasoin for the Ipeirmit to be denlied, and II (heard inuirnerous quantifiable
examples. II spoke up as weIIV. The onlly (pro quarry comment was from Saim
Birattoin from Welke Stone. He shared, liin (part:
"Wirlittein testimony has been submitted from a (lady who (lived for over 20
years adjacent to the IKinliglhtdalle Quarry, onlly 400ft from the active (pit. Niter
residence was Ibuffeired by a Ibeirrn sini to the oine we (propose to
construct to (buffer the 2 residences. She states "Welke Stone was an
1

exceEleint ineighboir and friend to Iheir and Iheir grandparents when they (lived
�lin the Ihome."Ouir blasting and equllpmeint were weEl slhieMed from the
residence and we had ino adverse llimpact on Iheir Ipropeirty, house or weH.
And that is 400' from the active (pit.
The Ipeirsoin that Mr 1Brattoin says wrote this Iletteir, Mairda Debi was
quoted llin an N&O airticile llin 2014 compl141ii about the quarry:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/eastern-wake-
news/articlel 01 25839.html
From the airticile:
"Mairda Debinaim(hives on ForestviEle Road and said she hears macNlines
working through the inight at the quarry and once a day llin the mid moir6ling,
she feells a Nast coming from the Ipropeirty. She said it shalkes Iheir home
and is worried what it might Ibe doing to Iheir propeirty.'l don't Ikinow what
that's dolling to my Ihouse," she said."
So what chainged Ibetweein 2014 and inow? What coUld have llinfiuenced Ms
Debinaim to inow speak favoirably of Walke Stone operations when she was
previousiy critical) of it? llin 2019, the tax vallue of Ms Debii house was
$102,000. llin JUly 2019, Walke Stone Ipuirclhased this Ipropeirty for $450,000,
more than four times the tax vallue. They then deimofished the house and
appealled the tax vallue down to $662. Granted, if 1I(hived adjacent to a
quarry, 1I llimaglline 1I too wound accept a very generous offer for my home, so
that 1I coUld move fair away from the disruption a quarry Ibrllings. 1But this
history, and coinflicting liinfoirmation irelpoirted Iby the News & Observer, puts
this Iletteir of irefeireince llin its Ipropeir Ipeirslpective.
A inew quarry wound inegativelly llimpact air and water quafity llin a IheavHy
used area. CIIeair cutting llin this conridoir wound allso adveirselly impact
citizens' quallkty of Ikfe (because an limportaint ii Ibuffeir wound Ibe
destroyed, abing with an llimpoirtaint Mldllkfe and recreational) corridor.
llin addition, recreation areas shoUld have a 250 ft *uindistuirbed* Ibuffeir to
mallii the gireeinway experience. The Ipllains I've seen do NOT aElow for
this.

Furthermore, l Ihave Ilearrned that the it iinlling Ipeirmit for the existing Welke
Stone quarry had a 50 year sunset clause that was recently deleted from
the Ipeirmit. l liirnaggline the quarry was origllinaMy approved contingent on this
clause Ibelling added. Welke Stone was somehow able to chainge the
word�ling. Ad6fioinaMy, why should a Iprlivate company Ibe granted a special
lease of IpubBlic hand for its own Iprlivate Iprofit, without Ipublic Input?
From former Welke County Commissioner Ery Portman:
"...Despite the objections of the Department and the Ipublic [the quarry']
was Ipeirmitted. There was one con6tion... a 50 year sunset Iprovlision that
required the amine to close Iby 2032 and the hand added to the Ipairk.
For 30 years Ibotlh the department and the amine accepted that agreement.
Then lien 2011, the amine operator claimed he just "discovered a cleiricaIl
error". Seems he found a old copy of the irri6ling commissioners report that
said later vs sooneir and asked that the one word Ibe chainged. The director
of inatuir4ll resources Ikinew Ibetteir; James &irnoins had firsthand IkinoWedge
of the Ipeirmit and rejected this clever cleiricaIl argument, he renewed the
permit lien 2011 with sooneir, as it had always Ibeein with the sunset clause.
After he was goine, lien 2018 a inew acting director undid 37 years of the
permit and Ibought the argument, wiping away the sunset clause as just a
cleir9lcall imistalke. He also approved a chainge that gutted the Ibuffeirs
protecting the creelk at the same time. The chainge was completed lien just
weeks with ino inotice to the Ipubllic, or state parks! No notice to anyone Ibut
the mine operator.
Now the operator waints to destroy 106 acres of forest on the other side of
the creek, Iprovlide smaller Ibuffers and mine some moire."
I'm asking that the DECK r6linstate the 50 year sunset clause of the Ipeirmlt
for the existing Welke Stone quarry, and also that the DECK deny any inew
permits for imiinlling operations on any hands adjacent to Urnstead State
Park.
Flease protect our Ipubllic lands. l appreciate those who Ihave spolken up lien
opposition to this quarry: Town of Moiririsvillle, City of RaIleigh, Senator
Willey Niclkell, former Welke County Commissioner Ery Portman, Welke
County Commissioners and Welke County Open Space and Parks

Advisory Committee, as weH as NC State Parks, and others that I've
missed.
1I Ihope others wiH spealk up as weEl, Ibefoire it's too (late
&inceirelly,
Teiresa Moore
211 S West St.
Cary, NC
Teiresa Moore
teresamoorephotographyCaD_qmail.com
211 S West Street
Cary, North Cairofina 27511