WINNSBORO (Feb. 26, 2016) – Opponents of a proposed granite quarry off Rockton Thruway may have gained considerable concessions from the Mining Council’s Board of Appeals, following hearings before the board last week.
The Council has 30 days in which to issue a written decision, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) would not confirm those concessions in an email to The Voice last Friday. Dorothy Brandenburg, community liaison for the quarry opponents, also would not confirm what concessions her group achieved, instead saying citizens wanted to wait on the official written document.
“The citizens are happy,” Brandenburg said Monday, “but that’s about all we can say.”
However, a source who attended the hearings in Columbia but wished to remain anonymous said the Mining Council is requiring DHEC to remand the permit for Winnsboro Crushed Stone, LLC until concessions are made. Those concessions include the installation of monitoring wells, which must be operational in time for construction to begin on the quarry. The company will also be required to construct berms along areas close to neighboring properties, the source said.
According to the source, the Mining Council has also mandated the metering of the water flow in nearby Horse Creek. Winnsboro Crushed Stone will also have to present a plan for funding neighborhood wells that may run low or dry as a result of mining, including a plan for furnishing emergency water and replacing wells.
Properties near the site that have not yet given leases and mining rights to the company must do so before mining can begin, the source said.
Winnsboro Crushed Stone intends to mine granite on 365.8 acres of a 923.2-acre tract off Rockton Thruway. Residents of the area appealed DHEC’s mining permit in hearings held in Columbia Feb. 16-19.
