Neighbors are speaking out against a new proposition to fill an inactive Lemay quarry in what, if approved, would be an intensive project that could last 10 to 15 years, right in their backyard. Several Lemay residents appeared at the Aug. 18 St. Louis County Council meeting to express their disapproval of the project.
The quarry — located near the intersection of Mount Olive Road and Avenue H — would be filled with roughly three million cubic yards of material over the years. Work on the project would start in the morning and continue until about 6 p.m., six days a week.
“Please allow us to live in our quiet neighborhood,” resident Susan Jones said at the Aug. 18 County Council meeting. “Please let us live in our homes, undamaged by the rumbling of the trucks over our streets day after day, six days a week. … Please let us continue to breathe the fresh air produced by the great number of trees in the quarry, instead of the stench of diesel fuel and dust clouds that may contain contaminated particles that will cover our neighborhoods.”
The construction in the quarry, as aforementioned by Jones, would bring trucks daily to clear the site and haul materials. According to project coordinators, this could mean at least 100 trips from dump trucks each workday for 10 to 15 years.
Residents are concerned about the traffic and noise this would cause, as well as whether it would present a danger to pedestrians who are out on walks or children waiting at bus stops. One resident was concerned that frequent traffic of heavy vehicles would damage roads, costing the county money in upgrades and maintenance.
Other concerns included possible bacteria from the water within the quarry being pumped out, potentially entering sewer systems.
“It’s going to cause a lot of problems when they pump out water,” resident Robert Block said. “People used to put fish in there, and there’s wildlife in there. All that is going to cause bacteria when it’s pumped out. Where’s that water going to go to? It’s going to go into the main sewer systems. It’s going to cause ecological problems in the sewer systems.”
Some residents worried about runoff or flooding in the area, while others said they were worried about property values plummeting due to the extended, intensive nature of the project.
“If you’re looking at this business as a revenue source, what can happen is the value of the homes is going to go down drastically,” one resident, Roger Horn, said at the Aug. 18 County Council meeting. “If the value goes down on the homes, well, of course you’re going to lose a lot of revenue, which is going to affect the two school districts in the area — one is Bayless, and one is Mehlville. And it’s not only going to affect those, but it’s also going to affect the fire department and other public services.”
Resident Briana Coleman has formed a survey to gauge neighbors’ reactions to the proposed quarry project. As of the County Council meeting on Aug. 18, she had received approximately 200 responses from residents living in homes near the quarry. She opened the survey on July 17; it is set to close at the end of August.
“I asked people to describe their emotions, just so you all would be able to have a decent snapshot of what we’re experiencing in this community,” Coleman said. “The top five are worried, uncomfortable, unsafe, frustrated and angry. Six of the respondents indicated a positive emotion — that’s giving us about 3% approval on this.”
Nothing is finalized yet. The proposal will need to go back to the St. Louis County Planning Commission before it can go before the County Council for final approval. District 6 County Councilman Mike Archer — who represents the district the Lemay quarry resides in — says he is taking citizen comments into consideration in the time leading up to the vote.
“I really appreciate everybody coming out and giving your opinion as to … how this affects your community, because this is your community,” Archer said. “I definitely want to take that into account when I’m casting my vote.”
