By David Pendered
The proposed rock quarry along the Chattahoochee River in Carroll County is slated to emit particles into the atmosphere during its operations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, if allowed to open on a site across the river from south Fulton County.
Oct. 9 is the deadline for public comment on the air quality application the quarry’s developer, Green Rock LLC, has filed with the state Environmental Protection Division, part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
A citizen group opposed to the quarry is busy drumming up opposition. A petition on change.org had 3,493 signatures at one point Wednesday evening, out of a goal of 5,000. The group’s Facebook page begins with this pitch that ends in a plea related to public health:
- “Hey, y’all! We have until October 9! Have you tackled the task of emailing the Georgia EPD Air Protection Branch yet? We know this one is a little more technical but if you have concerns over silica in the air (look up silicosis), if you’ve got COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, recovering from COVID, care about people close by recovering from organ transplants, or if you have any other respiratory or pulmonary issues please voice your concerns!”
The opposition is aimed at a quarry proposed by Green Rock, LLC on a site of about 360 acres. The land is located along a bend in the Chattahoochee River where the counties of Carroll, Coweta, Douglas and Fulton come close together along the waterfront.
The air quality application that’s the current focus of the citizen group was submitted by Green Rock to the state’s Environmental Protection Division. The application is dated Aug. 24.
An affiliate of Green Rock provided this general description of the facility:
“Rocky Bottom, LLC is proposing to construct and operate a new construction aggregate mine and associated stone processing plant. The facility proposes to operate at a production limit of 350 tons per hour through the primary crusher. Similarly, sales are also projected at 350 tons per hour. No paving of facility custormer roads or other interior roads is planned. Road emission will be controlled by water truck. Dust suppression on processing equipment will be supplied by water spray and associated carry over control.”
The application outlines the scope of emissions expected to be created by the mining of rock, crushing the material to aggregate, and having it hauled off by customers. Highlights include:
- The quarry is to operate 8,760 hours a year. These hours equate to 24 hours a day, every day of the year, based on a calculation of 8,760 hours divided by 365 days in a year;
- The production limit is 350 tons an hour through the primary crusher;
- Dust control on the crushing equipment and unpaved roads is to be provided by water spray “and associated carry over control;”
- No roads are to be paved inside the quarry. A customer road is to be a half-mile long, unpaved; a haul road to the bottom of the pit is to be a half-mile long, unpaved;
- An emissions forecast is based on 33.3 customer trucks an hour, with each truck weighing 21 tons. Another application submitted by Green Rock reported 50 trucks a day are expected to access the site, according to the Development of Regional Impact statement submitted to the Three Rivers Regional Commission, which is a sister agency of the Atlanta Regional Commission.
