ST. ALBANS TOWN, Vt. (WCAX) – Some residents in St. Albans Town are pushing back against a proposed quarry that they fear will cause excess noise and truck traffic in their community.
From the top of their property, Mitch and Diane Montagne look out on farmland and Lake Champlain. “It’s beautiful, it’s nice farmland,” Mitch said. “Just peace…”
But that peace he says could soon be disturbed with a quarry being proposed right next door. “I mean, they need quarries, obviously, but it’s a bad bad place to pick,” he said.
“It’s just going to ruin the peace and tranquility of the whole property,” Diane added.
Other residents we spoke to on Kellogg Road agree. “Sounds like a lot of extra traffic to me,” said Terry Raymond, who along with his wife Shirley, are concerned their taxes could go up to fix potential road problems and that their property value will plummet.
According to SD Ireland’s proposal for the quarry, trucks would go up and down the road six days a week, making up to 120 daily roundtrips.
“I’m curious if the people, the selectmen were living down there and their house was in that vicinity, would they go for it then?” Terry said.
The site plan shows the company would permit about eight acres off of Kellogg Road. Work would include blasting, processing, and stockpiling of rock material for 15 years.
St Albans Town officials say the area has been designated a wildlife corridor and that they also have concerns about traffic and wear and tear on the roads.
Mitch Montagne says he’s doing all he can to push back against the quarry. “It’s going to disrupt everything. That’s a lot of trucks,” he said.
According to the Vermont Natural Resources Board’s website, there has been no application for an Act 250 permit on the project. The local Development Review Board on Thursday will be meeting to discuss the quarry.