Slusser Brothers, a subsidiary of Pennsy Supply Inc. that owns and operates Small Mountain Quarry, has filed a petition asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to consider an appeal of a decision denying the quarry’s expansion.  Small Mountain Quarry is expected to exhaust its materials in the near future.  The expansion project is needed to protect the 150 jobs at the quarry.   

“We are pursuing every option possible to keep this quarry operating.  We are committed to keeping our workers employed,” said Patrick Bartorillo, General Manager of Small Mountain Quarry.  “This project is vital to our business and the regional economy.”

In July 2007, the Dorrance Township Zoning Hearing Board denied Slusser Brothers’ application for the quarry expansion.  The company appealed the board’s decision to Luzerne County Court and then to the Commonwealth Court, saying the company met the requirements for a special exception under the township’s zoning ordinance.  In December 2009, Commonwealth Court denied the company’s appeal and later declined to reconsider its decision.

The Board, the County Court and the Commonwealth Court all affirmed that Slusser Brothers met its burden of proving that its application met the requirements in the Dorrance Zoning Ordinance for grant of approval.  Slusser Brothers argues to the Supreme Court, however, that the 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.

 Instead, under applicable zoning law, the Board should have required opponents to show a “high degree of probability” of community impact “greater than might be expected under normal circumstances.”  The Board did not hold the opponents to this correct standard and therefore committed an error when it denied the application. 

Slusser Brothers also argues that the Board’s decision did not state the facts and reasons supporting its decision and that the Commonwealth Court relied in its decision on facts that were either not found by the Board or not on the record.  For example, the court cited a statement from objectors that nearby Balliet Run had been “destroyed” by sediment from the quarry.  However, the quarry does not drain into Balliet Run.  In fact, the classification of Balliet Run actually was upgraded in 2008 to a Class A Trout Stream by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, proving that it had not been damaged by the quarry.

Small Mountain Quarry has operated for more than 20 years on the north side of Small Mountain Road.  It has a stellar record of compliance with Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection regulations.  The proposal calls for opening a new quarry pit and moving some of its operations to the south side of Small Mountain Road, which is an industrial zoned area that permits quarrying. There would be no increase in truck traffic because the company plans to continue the same rate of operation.

As the appeal of the company’s initial plan has worked its way through the courts, Slusser Brothers filed a revised proposal with the Dorrance Township Supervisors that did not require a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board.  The revised plan is currently being reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.