Resident's Voice Concern About Proposed Rock Mine

WASHINGTON, N.C. - Nearly one hundred came out to a public hearing, to voice thier concern over a proposed mining project in the east.

Mining company Martin Marietta Materials hosted the hearing at the Beaufort County Courthouse Tuesday night.

The company wants to put an open-pit limestone mine on the Beaufort-Craven county line.

People who live near the Blount's Creek area have been expressing concerns over the county water-wells and the evironmental impact the mine would cause.

The newly proposed plan is a 1,600 acre operation that would eventually dump up to 11 million gallons of freshwater, per day into Blount’s Creek.

"I’m not opposed to a mine as long as they can do it efficiently that it does not pollute our environment,” said Russell Morgan who lives near Blount’s Creek.

The company brought in scientists to try an explain the studies they've done covering everything from well water supply, wetlands in the area, and the fish and other life living around the creek.

"They will be on hand to explain what we've done, what we've found, and the conclusions we have drawn,” said Paxton Badham, spokesperson for Martin Marietta Materials.

Their overall message was that the mine would help stimulate the local economy, bring up to 20 new jobs, and have very little impact on the environment.

But when it came time for questions the crowd wasn't convinced.

 Residents in the area wanted to know for sure that the area they call home would not be harmed.

"You're going to be pouring millions of gallons of alkaline water in to body of water into a water that is acid base, you've going to change the ph which is going to change the whole eco-structure,” said Morgan.

"This is groundwater that we pump out of the ground. Nothing is added to it, no chemicals or fertilizers, nothing is in it,” said Badham

The company admitted they are in the infancy of their planning and still have more research to do before the mine even gets approved.

They are working very closely with several state environmental control agencies to make sure their planned mine would be safe, and will continue to inform the public of their findings as they move forward.

--- Original Story ---

WASHINGTON, N.C. - A proposed limestone mining site in Beaufort County has the people who live there concerned about the nearby Blounts Creek.

The Martin Marietta Materials Company wants to pump millions of gallons of water and sand from it's mine into Blounts Creek in Beaufort County, a move that some say that could hurt the area.

Tuesday night, residents showed up at the town meeting to express their frustrations with the proposal, saying it will impact all citizens in one way or another.

“You strip the land. You loose photosynthesis from the lack of vegetation. You're going to cause noise pollution, dust pollution, run off. What is it going to do to the water table," asked Russell Morgan.

"9 million gallons of freshwater going into the creek is going to have a direct impact on the fisheries. That is going to have a direct impact on my livelihood," said Richard Andrews.

The council advised concerned residents to attend Monday's county commissioners meeting, where the topic will be addressed. 

--- Original Story ---

WASHINGTON, N.C. - A proposed limestone mining site in Beaufort County has the people who live there concerned about the popular recreational creek nearby.

The company wants to pump millions of gallons of water and sand into Blounts Creek in Beaufort County.  Some say that could hurt the area.

A representative from Martin Marietta Materials, the company proposing the mining site, said of the proposed nine million gallons, a maximum of six million gallons would be offloaded into Blounts Creek and the rest at another location.

This would happen over a period of years, starting out with a much smaller amount of water and working its way up to the total nine million a day.

Nonetheless, people are still worried about the impact.

"It's a hidden treasure. It's a natural resource," said Bob Ebe. It’s why he chose to retire along Blounts Creek back in 1997. "It's a great place to catch fish and blue crab."

For the Martin Marietta Company based out of Raleigh it's also a great place to unload water from a proposed 1,400 acre mining operation nearby by.

It's a water-soil mixture the company needs to pump out of the Castle Hayne aquifer in order to mine limestone.

Paxton Badham with Martin Marietta said because mining is a gradual process, it could take decades before they are pumping out nine million gallons of water a day.

It’s a gradual change Ebe doesn't trust.

"This upsets me,” he said. “I don't think Blounts Creek will remain a calling card for people to come here and purchase property. That's tax dollars that won't go to Beaufort County."

9 On Your Side took those concerns to the Tar-Pamlico Riverkeeper Heather Deck.

"Streams like Blounts Creek are critical in maintaining the quality of fishing that we have," said Deck.

She said even though the change will be gradual, there will be a change.

"The concern about this and the concern that the residents have had is justified because you can't have a nine million gallon a day discharge without changing the nature of that creek in some fashion."

The Martin Marietta Material's Company said they've been working with state agencies like the water quality and wildlife resource commission for five years.

They say they've met all requirements and strive to run a clean quarry.

The Army Corp of Engineers has opened a public commenting session from now until January 14^th, along with other communities in Beaufort County that will put on hearings for the public.