Further Details
Homes near quarry sites can suffer damages such as cracked foundations, basement flooding, damage to in-ground pools, wells and septic systems, cracks in interior walls, ceiling collapse, holes in roofs and walls from flying rock debris, broken windows and more. Damage to water supplies and septic systems creates a health issue that may render the home uninhabitable. Blasting can release radon into the basements of surrounding homes. Radon causes lung cancer. This information has been obtained from complaints filed with fire departments, resident letters to local officials in various towns with quarries and documentation provided by at public hearings in various towns with quarries or opposing a planned quarry.
According to the SME Mining Handbook, flyrock can travel up to 3,300 feet. It can be a scattering of small rocks up to large boulders. It can smash through windows, doors, walls and roofs, creating a significant public safety hazard.
The roads in Berkley, Freetown are small, two lane narrow streets without street lights or sidewalks. These roads are lined with families with small children. School buses make pick ups and drop offs on Bryant St. and near-by roads. In towns with quarries residents complain about trucks speeding in residential neighborhoods, trucks spilling gravel and stone onto the roads, trucks dropping rocks onto cars, trucks shedding dust clouds behind them and traveling through town uncovered. There are also more cases of truck and pedestrian accidents and truck and passenger car accidents. Trucks loaded down with stone and gravel also cause excessive wear to the road, requiring more time and money in road repairs. More trucks create more emissions affecting health and air quality.
Areas of Berkley most directly affected would be Bryant St. Anthony St. Equestrian Way, Crystal, Elmwood, Myricks Street, Old Myricks St. and Paddelford, but noise and blasting may affect homes even further away. Areas of Freetown most directly affected include Bryant St., Richmond Road and Beechwood Road. Areas of Lakeville that could be affected include Malbone St., Peirce Ave, Mill St., Trinity Lane, Great Cedar Drive, Josh Road, Emerson Drive, Hawthorn Drive and Howland Road. Keep in mind that ground water could be affected for a mile or more. Noise travels through the air. Rock crushers can be heard for more then a mile away. Dust travels on the wind. Vibrations from blasting may travel a considerable distance. In actuality, a broader area could be affected.
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p>2. The property in its current state?
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p>You know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
So far on the Freetown side, they have an office building, the screening plant, an assortment of trucks, a network of dirt roads, an area prepared with drainage pipes to funnel water (pumped out of the quarry to be on the Berkley side?) into a shallow pool area- currently dry. The have a permit for blasting in Freetown but have not started blasting yet. They have a permit in Freetown to dig down 20 feet. It seems that the Freetown side may be where they will handle water drainage issues and rock screening for the quarry that would go on the Berkley side. They have also constructed a dirt wall on the Freetown side that blows dust into the nearby houses.
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p>Freetown residents and the closest Berkley residents to the Freetown side have already had problems with dust blowing into their homes and covering the sides of their houses. Dust began blowing into people’s homes as soon as they began working on the Freetown property.
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p>CCA conducted a road survey but has not said why or what they plan to do with it.
There are a lot of signs on lawns in Assonet about the Wal-Mart project they are fighting.
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p>And in the past, Freetown has fought fly ash.
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p>Of course, Stop and Shop was able to put in a very large distribution center recently.
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p>But there is some outrage that has been channeled in the past. Has that been tapped?
Yes, we have spoken with Freetown residents who have worked on those issues.
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p>Berkley had a lot of signs up too about the quarry and the town Highway Department came as far as 6 feet into people’s yards on private property to remove the signs. Signs were also removed from street corners where political campaign signs and advertisement signs remained undisturbed!