The Small Mountain Quarry in Dorrance Township could be abandoned later this year if a planned expansion falls through, forcing the quarry's closure and leaving 150 employees out of a job, according to quarry officials.

For the past several years, quarry owners Slusser Brothers Inc. have launched a two-pronged campaign to obtain the needed permission to mine an additional 128 acres across Small Mountain Road. They first hit a roadblock in 2007 when the township zoning board denied special exemptions needed to make the original expansion plans work.  

Slusser Brothers appealed the zoning board's decision, but it was upheld in county and commonwealth courts. The company asked the state Supreme Court last month to consider an appeal, arguing the zoning board and the lower courts "erred when they sided with opponents merely on the basis that the quarry would have impacts that are normal for a quarry."  

While struggling to gain a judge's approval, the company also introduced redesigned plans they feel both address residents' concerns and circumvent the need to request special exemptions from the zoning board. That plan needs township supervisors' conditional approval, which quarry officials hope to gain as well as obtaining a mining permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.  

Patrick Bartorillo, quarry general manager, said if the expansion is thwarted, resources at the existing 68-acre mining sites will be depleted in late summer or early fall. The plan's approval would allow 50 more years of mining, he added.  

"We're really up against it now," he said.  

Slusser Bros., a subsidiary of Harrisburg-based Pennsy Supply Inc., also contributes about $5 million to $7 million annually in purchases to local suppliers as well as working with area subcontractors, Bartorillo said. That means the quarry's closure would have a trickle-down effect on the local economy, he added.  

"With the economy the way it is, these are good jobs," he said.  

Mark Carmon, DEP spokesman, said the Pottsville district mining office is reviewing the non-coal surface mining permit application, but there's no telling when a decision will be reached. There's also no guarantee a permit will be issued, he said.  

"Each one is unique," he said, adding DEP usually has questions for applicants that need to be addressed before the permit is approved.

The quarry's plans to expand haven't exactly been met with open arms from nearby property owners. The increased noise and dust and possible impact on the environment are major concerns for several residents who intervened in the suit in support of the zoning board's decision.  

William Higgs, attorney for residents opposed to the expansion, said at a public hearing to display the revised plans that they weren't convinced the quarry's alternate proposal would have no impact on the environment and residents' properties. A main concern is the effect runoff from the quarry would have on nearby Balliet Run, high-quality trout waters and a tributary of Wapwallopen Creek.  

Kevin Casey, a vocal and longtime opponent of the expansion, said contamination from the mining operation could come through the many springs running off the mountain and pour into Balliet Run. He doesn't believe quarry officials have done enough testing to prove runoff wouldn't be a threat to the environment, he said.  

"Those springs coming off the mountain are just like Balliet Run," he said.  

Casey also said dust coming from the quarry is a major problem at his adjacent property, and would only get worse if the expansion goes through.  

"My water spigots are constantly clogging up, because when they dynamite things shift underground," he said.  

However, quarry officials feel the changes in the plan satisfy most of the issues that residents have raised. Bartorillo said they have changed drainage patterns so runoff comes down the side of the property farthest from Balliet Run and nearby wetlands. A buffer zone will be left between the quarry's property and the wetlands, also shielding the mining sites from the view of nearby homeowners, he added. Additionally, all crushing equipment will be enclosed to alleviate noise and suppress dust.  

"It's a commitment the company is making. It's an investment of about a million dollars to enclose all the equipment," he said.  

Casey also took issue with quarry officials' contention that 150 employees would be out of a job if the quarry closes, calling it a "misleading statement." He referenced a mining report sent from the quarry to DEP listing the number of employees at around 20.  

Bartorillo said that report only takes into consideration the miners, not the maintenance personnel, management staff and truck drivers that also work at the quarry.  

Last month, township residents Albert and Florence Drums and their relatives filed a lawsuit in Luzerne County Court asserting the family owns 25 percent of the mineral rights for 196 acres of the quarry.  

The Drums, of 1242 S. Main Road, are descendants of the deceased Charles and Mary Broghammer. According to the suit, the Broghammers retained 50 percent of mineral rights when they sold the two tracts of land that Slusser Bros. later acquired, according to the suit.  

The plaintiffs also want Pennsy Supply to account for all stone and minerals removed from the site and cease operations there. Higgs, attorney for the Drums family, said the family wants to establish their rights and believes its clear in the title that they own a portion of the mineral rights.  

Margaret Drum of New Jersey, Marion Drum Hildebrand of Mountain Top, Donald and Mary Drum Eroh of Mountain Top, Ruth Drum Ionna of Nanticoke and Margaret Coleman Drum London of Forty Fort are also plaintiffs in the suit.  

Sean Connolly, spokesman for Pennsy Supply, said after the suit was filed, that the quarry's attorneys are reviewing it, "but we feel it has no merit."  

Source: Citizens Voice