Morristown residents concerned about impacts of proposed quarry

Yahoo

19-03-2025

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WATE) — A public hearing was held Tuesday night in Hamblen County in regards to a permit for a proposed 57-acre limestone quarry near I-81. More than 40 people were at the meeting who were concerned about the potential ecological impacts of the proposed mine.
The meeting discussed the federally-required permit the proposed quarry would have to obtain under provisions established Clean Water Act. Tensions were high at times during the meeting on the Walter's State campus. Residents sharing their concerns about a proposed quarry and it's impacts on nearby Flat Creek.
'Remarkable' woman transformed old Townsend campground into luxury outdoor resort
'One of the main concerns is the runoff from the heavy rain. I'm originally Ohio and strip mining, it was no different than what they are doing,' Morristown resident John Lowe said. 'When it rains, that water runs off the ground into the rivers and creeks, you can't control it and it just destroys everything. It will kill everything, so I'm concerned about what's going to happen under the ground.'
The news of the public meeting took many by surprise as some just found out Monday, leaving them wondering why they weren't told sooner.
'I'm not very happy about [this]. It's too close to town, it should be further out for the safety,' Lowe said.
'If it hadn't been for this meeting tonight, we wouldn't have known anything about it,' another resident added.
Ex-Knox County narcotics chief accused of using unit as 'personal piggy bank' to stand trial
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation officials took nearly an hour of questions then another 45 minutes of comments and statements by more than a dozen people in attendance. Daniel Lawrence, the program manager for the TDEC mining section, said they rely heavily on public comments in their decision making when it comes to these types of permits.
'They're tremendously important to us. We really value public participation and input. We do a lot of digging on the front end to make sure that we have looked at every single aspect. As far as we're aware, we have done a good job when it comes to drafting a draft permit,' Lawrence said. 'Sometimes, members of the public bring information to us that we weren't aware of. They might know something about the stream or the area that just wasn't on our radar before. These things are incredibly valuable and we never make a final permitting decision before we've had a chance for folks to provide their input.
▶ See more top stories on WATE.com
People can still submit comments until March 28 by emailing [e-mail] or by sending a letter to 3711 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37921-6538. Lawrence said they will only consider comments about the surface water and the water quality.
Many concerns were raised regarding the possible impact this could have on the wells and the wildlife in the area. For residents like John Lowe, he was happy to see so many other community members showed up to voice their concerns. We are told it will take a couple of months to compile the results before making a decision, it could be around the summer time before the community gets its answer as to whether or not the permit has been approved.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.