BACKWATER ANGLER

Here’s a summary from the Hereford Community Association Meeting

Present at the meeting:
Mike and Skip Gardiner From Patuxent Materials Inc.
Chris Steuart from Blue Mount Materials Inc.
Larry Schmidt, of Gildea and Schmidt, the attorney for Patuxent Materials

About 60 people attended the Hereford Community Association meeting or:
private landowners; fly fishermen, press, Clark Howells from the Baltimore City Water Department and House Delegate Wade Kach.

Issues at hand:
Questions arose regarding lack of due process and improper notice.
While the zoning hearing notice was posted in the Jeffersonian, no local residents receive that publication.
Adjoining landowners complained that they did not see notices posted on the quarry property nor did they receive registered mail notices prior to the zoning hearing.
Only five residents were said to have attended the actual zoning hearing before Baltimore County Zoning Comissioner William J Wiseman III.

Quarry Operations:
Weekday Hours: 6:00 AM till 4:30 PM, five days a week
Blasting: 3:00-5:00 PM
Weekend Hours: 6:00 AM till 1:00 PM every Saturday

Traffic:
20-30 ton trucks
120 trucks - two trips a day
240 / 25 x 2,000
12,000,000 lb. a day!

Highlights:
The quarry has not actively mined stone since 1997. For the past ten years it has been, a low volume business, the new owners will be changing the use of Blue Mount Quarry from a “stone yard” to a high volume, mining and rock crushing “active” quarry. There are currently no limitations on the amount of quarrying that can take place.

The Gardiners have paid for traffic studies and noise studies.

A special exception to zoning was granted in 1973, but the bank required reapproval of the existing permit.

A resident asked if, “air quality would be monitored.”

Another resident asked about, “radon effects, from blasting and fracturing rocks.”

A resident noted that, “most county roadways and bridges, including the bridge at Big Falls, adjacent to the quarry are rated at 15 tons and heavy truck traffic will impact and degrade area roadways and bridges.”

Send comments and letters to:info@backwaterangler.com

For another take on this issue go to Pat van den Beemt’s Article, Neighbors Blast Owners of Blue Mount Quarry”, originally published in the North County News.

Related posts:

Heartfelt Letter about Blue Mount Quarry from Gunpowder Regular

Blue Mount Quarry Meeting Open to the Public

Please join us for a fly fishing school. On Sunday, April 1, Rocky Cox will be teaching a fly fishing school that is ideal for beginners. The school covers knots, casting, gear and fly selection.Cost is $100 per person and includes the use of gear. Class size is limited to 4 and pre-registration is required. Please give us a call at 410-329-6821 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to pre-register.

This heartfelt letter following my earlier post, comes to us from a Gunpowder regular. Thank you Mr. Williams for voicing your opinion.
To whom it may concern:
I recently read the notice posted on your website of the meeting about the
pending resumption of quarrying rock at Blue Mount Quarry. Unfortunately,
work in Washington D.C. will prevent me from making it to the meeting. As an
avid fly fisherman, and a regular at the gunpowder river, I wanted to write
to express my concern over the impact the quarry will have on the river. I
would hate to see years of hard work by everyone associated with the
preservation of the Gunpowder River as a premier trout fishing destination
in the State of Maryland ruined by the environmental impacts the quarry and
the resulting additional dump truck traffic could have on the stream.

While I am not a resident of the area, I am a frequent visitor and would
like to stress the preservation of one of the most beautiful areas in the
State. It concerns me that the quarry will have a significant impact on the
character of the community in the area. Monkton and the surrounding area
along the Gunpowder river always feels like I am coming to an area that is
unspoiled by the everyday rush one finds in the larger cities. I urge the
new owners of the quarry to consider the impact their operation could have
on such a beautiful part of the State and to consider means to address and
minimize the impact of their operations.

Please make my position known if you feel it would be helpful to your efforts
in ensuring the continuation of the Gunpowder river and the surrounding area
as a unique and beautiful place both to live and to visit.
Thank you,
Kevin Williams