Joliet meeting does not settle quarry concerns

A plan to start blasting at a long-standing Joliet quarry may face increased opposition after a second community meeting last week.

The plan for the East Side quarry in the area of Richards Street and Sandall Place has been stalled by opponents since a first community meeting in November. A City Council vote on the plan has been tabled several times since then at the request of quarry owner VM Land.

Council member Suzanna Ibarra, whose 5th District includes the quarry site, said she would not vote to approve blasting after attending the meeting that she said drew about 125 people.

“The neighbors are angry, and I don’t think enough is known about it to say this is going to be a safe operation,” Ibarra said Monday.

Ibarra said quarry owners are meeting next week with representatives from the Sunny Hill Nursing Home, which sits on the edge of future quarry operations, the Will County Health Department and Joliet Public Schools District 86.

The quarry now operates using hydraulic rock blasting under an annexation agreement with the city that does not allow blasting.

Whether VM Land proceeds to a July 18 council vote on blasting may depend on the outcome of those meetings, Ibarra said.

The council vote would be on a proposal to amend the original annexation agreement, which banned blasting at the quarry. The quarry, which supplies PT Ferro Construction, uses hydraulic crushing now.

There are four Joliet grade schools within a half-mile of the quarry, District 86 Superintendent Theresa Rouse said.

“I don’t think there is enough known for many residents to feel safe and comfortable,” Rouse said, noting that many of the residents living near the quarry are children in the grade schools and their parents. She said blasting would have more effect on surrounding neighborhoods than on schools located farther away.

The four schools within a half-mile of the quarry are Washington Junior High and Academy, Keith Elementary, Woodland Elementary and Thompson Instructional Center.

The school district has not taken a position for or against blasting, and Rouse said she did not know whether it would take a stand before a vote by the City Council.

“We don’t have a position,” she said. “We have questions and concerns about noise and air quality,”

Nathaniel Washburn, attorney for the quarry project, could not be reached Monday for comment.

Megan Cooper, one of several East Side community advocates who has challenged the blasting plan, said the community meeting held on Thursday will increase the number of residents showing up to object to the plan the next time it is on a City Council agenda.

“We’re planning on showing up in numbers,” Cooper said.