Update on the Martin Marietta rock quarry | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    This is a follow-up to an earlier article on the turnout at the Chocowinity Town Board Meeting Tuesday (1-3-12) night and the anticipated Beaufort County Commissioner's meeting next Monday night (1-6-12).

    We have learned today (1-4-12) from County Manager Randell Woodruff that a community informational meeting is being planned for the latter part of January or early February at which Martin Marietta will present its plans for the rock quarry in the Big Pocosin area of Beaufort County. The session is not required by the permitting process but according to Martin Marietta spokesperson Paxton Battam it is a way for them to explain the project and answer citizens' questions.

    Battam acknowledged that the session is likely come after the Corps of Engineers extended comment period but said: "the Corps permits are not the significant ones that address the concerns we have heard (read in press reports and by people who have called). Those permits will be the NPDES permits that will have to be obtained from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and we have not even applied for them yet. That will come sometime in the future." He went on to explain that the permit some have said had already been issued was issued in 2007 was only for test wells.

    You can track the permits by county by clicking here. If you are interested in the current permits outstanding for Beaufort County to extract water from the Castle Hayne aquifer you can see that by clicking here. What is obvious from this list is that the proposed nine million gallons per day maximum that the Big Pocosin quarry might extract is relatively a small amount compared to others, such as Potash at 86 million gallons per day and Eagle Water Company LLC with 58 million permitted.

    We also asked Mr. Battam whether their discharged water could be used some way other than pumping it into Blounts Creek and he said that is something they would be very interested in doing. He suggested that perhaps the Beaufort County Water System might use the water. He indicated that Martin Marietta did just that at its quarry in Onslow County, but from a different technical perspective. There the Onslow Water district sank several wells adjacent to the quarry and pumped ground water into their system before it every got into the pit. That extraction lowered the ground water pressure (water table) in the pit and resulted in much less discharge. "There are a number of possible uses we would be very interested in using if we can partner with someone that could make good use of the water. We would certainly welcome that. The Onslow system works well for everyone."

    County Manager Woodruff indicated that those wishing to speak during the public comment section of the agenda of the January 6 Commissioners' meeting would be welcome to do so, but he suggest it might be more productive for residents to attend the information session later this month or next to learn more about the details of the project and then offer their comments in the formal permitting comment process. "The County has no real jurisdiction over this project. We did express our concerns and wanted to be sure the Corps of Engineers knew about our water system's needs but the permitting process for this mine is a state and Federal issue, not an issue the County has any real authority in."

    Commentary

    After a day of research we are much less concerned than we were when we heard some of the comments at the Chocowinity meeting. The project is still in the very early stages and it in fact may be years before anything really happens. There will clearly be opportunities for the public to learn more and then to offer comments to those who will be making the decisions.

    We think it unfortunate that residents were led to believe the Town of Chocowinity or the County could do very much about this process. Clearly that energy can be better directed to the proper agencies and at the appropriate time and there is still ample time to do that.

    Click here to view some pictures of the Big Pocosin.