A quarry dispute in rural Tennessee is escalating as residents try to put a stop to its activity.
What happened?
According to WATE Knoxville, neighbors in Piedmont are challenging a limestone quarry run by Whaley Construction, saying the business began operating without first getting county approval.
Mike Asbury, chairman of the Jefferson County Preservation Society, told the outlet the quarry's activity reaches his home.
"It makes a very loud noise, and you can hear it in the house and sometimes when they dump boulders into the trucks, you can hear that rattle in the house, but it's especially loud outside," he said.
Annette Loy, a board member of the Jefferson County Preservation Society, said the quarry's impact on Piedmont has been overwhelming.
"This quarry has absolutely pulverized this little community of Piedmont, and the citizens are suffering from the effects of dust and smoke and noise and rocks being hurled through the air and road damage," she told WATE.
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"The only thing we have of any value is the land. And once it's gone, it's gone. You can't put it back," Loy said.
Residents say county action has not stopped the operation. Asbury shared with WATE a cease-and-desist notice sent by the Jefferson County attorney to Whaley Construction, and resident Kathleen Villars said truck traffic is still ongoing.
"On average, there are 50, if not more generally, trucks leaving that quarry and each truck is filled with 20 tons," Villars said.
Why does it matter?
Residents say the quarry's effects are being felt in their homes, on local roads, and potentially near a school.
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Loy pointed to a local elementary school as another concern.
"There are clouds of dust rolling across that school at times," referring to a local elementary school.
Protester Tina Ball also raised concerns about what people may be breathing in.
"The dust is not actual dust like you go out in your backyard and play with when you're a child, you throw in the air and you say 'woo hoo we're playing in the dirt'. This is not dirt. It's silica," Ball told WATE.
According to WATE, state regulators said Whaley Materials, LLC does hold air and water-quality permits for the site. But TDEC said those approvals do not replace local zoning rules, and the agency does not have authority over blasting, noise, or truck traffic.
What's being done?
Residents are continuing to protest and urging local officials to enforce county land-use rules.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation told WATE that local government decides whether the site counts as a quarry under zoning rules and is also responsible for any enforcement connected to that decision.
A company may have approvals tied to runoff or air emissions, but that does not necessarily mean a project is welcome — or lawful — under local rules. When residents hear a business framing permits as a blanket green light, it can be worth taking a closer look and learning more about misleading claims.
Whaley Construction had not commented to WATE by the time of the station's report.
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