Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
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AGGREGATES MANAGER / October 2016 3 October 2016 Vol. 21, No.10 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Contributing Editor: Kerry Clines editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media Vice President, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Russell McEwen Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. 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(See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. NIMBYS move beyond the backyard by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com EDITORIAL M ost operators go out of their way to build and maintain good relation- ships with their neighbors and local officials. But, as a recently passed ordinance in Miramar, Fla., shows, those efforts may need to extend beyond the county a company operates in and include surrounding government bodies as well. Miramar commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance to direct the city's legal staff to investigate the effects of blasting at White Rock Quarry (located in neighbor- ing Miami-Dade County) on its residents and detail its legal options to limit blasting, including a lawsuit, the Sun Sentinel reports. As commissioners await the results of that investigation — due around mid- October — it's worth noting that the area has a well-established disdain of blasting. In December 1999, the city banned blasting. It also conducted two years of indepen- dent monitoring — above and beyond state tests — from 2005 to 2007. During that time, more than 275 blasts were monitored, and all registered under the state limit of 0.50PPV. In fact, according to the city's own data, only 10 exceeded a peak particle velocity of half that number. Midway through that time period, White Rock Quarries held a community outreach session with residents and presented experts in fields such as seismology, structural engineering, and mining to explain the effects of blast- ing and cover issues such as the science of blasting, seismography readings, safety, and the effect of blasting on structures. Apparently, the local citizenry has a short memory where that effort is concerned. While the county's own web page provides information about the state fire marshall's oversight of blasting, Mayor Wayne Messam told the newspaper that "there's little oversight of the activities that are going on there." Apparently, he's also unaware of the results of a Blasting Task Force convened by Miami-Dade County in 2000. That study concluded strong winds, not blasting, were responsible for damage to nearby homes. Regardless, residents continue to complain and blame blasting for shaking their houses, causing cracks in their walls, and even causing shaving accidents. Although the quarry predates homes in the area by more than 30 years, residents want it to modify its operations or move. Short of seismographs around the perimeter of the operation — and maybe even with that — some residents will never accept fact over fear. But operators can always set a schedule for their blasts and share them via web, news, and social media re- sources. Many times, eliminating the unknown events make blasting a little less star- tling for neighbors. White Rock Quarries Owner Jim Hurley told the newspaper that he's willing to dis- cuss concerns with Miramar officials, just as he does with the communities closest to his operation. He rightly reminded the newspaper that all blasts are well below state limits, noting, "We are a very heavily regulated industry with strict standards." .