ESSENTIAL MINERAL RESOURCES VERSUS THE PUBLIC'S VIEW OF QUARRIES

Quarries furnish crushed stone, an essential raw material for construction, agriculture, and industry. The principal use of crushed stone is for residential, commercial, and government construction, including the construction and maintenance of the Nation’s infrastructure. Highways, streets, bridges, and airport runways of the transportation infrastructure are evident to all, but less obvious are the 300 to 400 tons of crushed stone required on average per house in a new subdivision. In agriculture, crushed limestone and dolomite are applied to fields and pastures to neutralize soil acidity and to provide plant nutrients. Chemically pure limestones are raw material for manufacturing lime and cement, and, among numerous other industrial uses, they furnish sorbent stone for removing SO2 emissions from coal-burning power plants and reactive stone for acid neutralization.

The public, however, commonly does not view quarries as a source of essential material, but rather as a nuisance to be eliminated. Construction stone is a low-price, high-bulk commodity, and haulage charges are a major part of its cost. To reduce these transportation costs, quarries historically have been sited on the periphery of cities, their major markets. With urban expansion, residential areas are encroaching on existing quarries and the conflict between the new residents and quarries is increasing. Quarries are perceived solely as a source of dust, noise, blasting vibrations, heavy traffic, and a visually intrusive big hole in the ground.

Quarry operators and resource specialists must proactively educate planners and the public about the importance of active quarry sites and remaining stone resources. With the Nation’s aging infrastructure, it is becoming even more important, not less, that we have ready access to large amounts of crushed stone. Local government agencies can protect the resource base by planning for multiple and sequential land use. Open houses at quarries for the general public and quarry tours for school groups and civic organizations have been successful educational tools.