NEW WINDSOR — Representatives from Lehigh Cement Co. updated residents on the company’s quarry plans at the Town Council meeting Wednesday night.

Quarry manager Joe Risley reported that Lehigh is seeking a certificate of use permit from the county to expand its mining into a larger portion of the 800 acres of zoned mining territory that the company has owned since the 1950s.
Sixty-six acres of the property are already being mined. Risley said it is important for Lehigh to mine the entire territory, so it doesn’t waste any of the limestone resources.

While the presentation wasn’t open to a public question-and-answer session, many in the town attended to find out how the mining would affect their properties and quality of life.

Mining creates dust, noise and blasts that shake the ground and houses surrounding the property, residents said.

Kathryn Freed-Collier, a town resident, said she is not happy with the company’s plans.

“The fact that they could very well be rocking the foundation of the houses in New Windsor, the nuisance factor and there will be a huge amount of traffic [concerns me],” Freed-Collier said.

Freed-Collier said she moved to the town because it is quiet and historic and more mining would disrupt her way of life.

Her home is close to the proposed mining site, but Risley said that, depending on whether other properties can be mined, the portion of land closest to housing might not need to be affected.

We can withdraw from the town 1,100 feet if we can expand [the Clemsonville property],” Risley said.

The question of transporting the limestone from the quarry to the Union Bridge facility was another issue that was not resolved.

Plant manager Kent Martin said the company is still considering the options of trucking the stone, sending it by rail or by a conveyor.

Martin said Lehigh is conducting a study to examine the options of building a conveyor that would operate with minimal noise.

If there would be a need to move the stone via trucking, Martin said Lehigh will still be sticking to an agreement the company and the town agreed upon in 2006 to stay out of downtown New Windsor.

Because there was no question-and-answer session, many who attended were not satisfied with the meeting. Before Lehigh goes to the county for its usage permits, the New Windsor Community Action Plan hopes to hold a meeting that will allow residents to ask questions in the near future.

Sharon Burleson Schuster, president of NEWCAP, said she is happy to have Risley and plant manager Kent Martin on board, but there are still many questions.



Source: Carroll County Times, 11/09/2007, Staff Writer Erica Kritt