Bucksport quarry proposal concerns residents

BUCKSPORT – A proposed rock quarry planned for Route 46 has raised concerns of residents who live or own property in the area.

Vaughn Thibodeau and Sons has filed an application with the planning board to open a 19.6-acre rock quarry on a 146-acre parcel it owns near Old County Road off Route 46 near the Dedham town line.

Representatives from the company made their first appearance before the planning board last week and a group of 30 or so residents were there to voice objections.

Although Chris Tullman, project manager for the quarry, said the proposed quarry site is the required 800 feet from any homes and 1,000 feet from the road, residents expressed concerns that the operation will affect not only their property, but also the environment around their homes.

The proposed site is close to three small residential subdivisions containing a total of 12 house lots.

Property owner James England and his father, James L. England, disputed that the quarry was the required distance from the home they are building for England’s grandmother which will eventually be his.

“I’m 23 years old,” the younger England said Thursday. “That quarry is going to operate for 30 years. I’ll be 53 before I have any peace in that house.”

England also expressed concern that the blasting would have an impact on natural fissures in the bedrock formation which could affect groundwater in the area and at his home.

The elder England said he was concerned that the operation would affect the value of his property and that the blasting could damage the foundation of their house.

“It’s all sitting on one rock,” he said.

The planning board session was not a public hearing, but chair Gail Hallowell allowed residents to raise a few questions and concerns. Those concerns ranged from possible impacts to a nearby stream and to the groundwater and to the eagles that inhabit the area.

One man expressed concern that the operation might affect the surface water which he said flows eventually into Alamoosook Lake.

“That water runs into Alamoosook Lake, and you pump it into your water supply,” he said.

“Look at that proposal,” he said. “That’s what you’re going to be looking at for the rest of your life and the rest of your children’s life.”

He became so agitated that he left the meeting.

Others raised concerns about the noise they anticipated from the quarry including the blasting and the rock crushing operation planned for the site.

Tullman explained that the operation will be carefully regulated by several agencies, and that the noise levels at the property line will meet those regulations. Likewise, he said the operation was located on a hill and would not reach groundwater levels of surrounding homes.

“This site will be internally draining,” he said. “There will be no effect on the surface water or the groundwater. We will not hit those groundwater levels at all.”

The maximum truck trips allowed in the application was listed at six to 12 trips an hour. Tullman said that, more realistically, there would be six to 12 trips a day. Most of those, he said, will travel not into Bucksport, but will turn right and head to Route 1A, the closest route to the company’s plant in Ellsworth.

Although the board cut off most discussion during the preliminary presentation, Hallowell assured residents they would have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal during the board’s review process.

Board members had their own questions about the project. The only one discussed at length, however, was the proposal by Thibodeau to use a lot it owns located within one of the subdivisions for access to the quarry site.

The lot as approved in the subdivision plan already has a 60-foot right of way leading to the quarry site, and the property already has an existing road.

Planning board member David Grant questioned whether the proposed use of the right of way for a commercial operation altered the use of the lot, which, he said would require board approval.

The board made no determination about the application during last week’s session. It will meet in April to review the proposal and to determine whether the application is complete.

Once that determination is made, the board will proceed with its formal review, which will include a public hearing.