In Oregon, tourism town fights quarry plan above aquifer serving 3,000

In Oakridge, Oregon, a plan to mine gravel from TV Butte has reopened a dispute dating back over a decade.

Since 2015, residents have pushed back on development plans in the area, warning that the butte feeds an aquifer that serves more than 3,000 people, the Lookout Eugene-Springfield reported.

Here's what to know

Old Hazeldell Quarry LLC first submitted the quarry proposal in 2015, and Lane County commissioners have since approved, denied, and revisited various versions. Commissioners are now scheduled to reopen a public hearing on zoning changes that would allow the company to mine volcanic rock on TV Butte, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

TV Butte is hydrologically connected to the aquifer that supplies drinking water to more than 3,000 people. 

According to the company's application, the company would mine about 46 acres of the 107-acre property. The filing said the site contains nearly 17 million tons of construction-grade andesite and that, at peak production, the project would remove 500,000 tons of gravel a year. 

This production level would require 43 truck roundtrips per day to remove material from the quarry site. 

Old Hazeldell Quarry LLC argues the project would preserve a local gravel source for road and infrastructure work while creating jobs. The company estimates 10 to 15 full-time positions and more than $137,000 a year in state and local tax contributions once the quarry is fully operational.

Residents opposing the project say those benefits don't justify the costs.

Sabrina Ratkowski, president of Oakridge Strong and executive director of the Save TV Butte movement, put it plainly.

"I'm not against quarries," she said, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield. "I'm against things that could have very real potential negative impacts to us, which covers a lot of bases."

Public Health and Environmental Concerns

Another major concern with the proposed project is its proximity to a closed municipal landfill site, formerly known as the Dunning Road Dump. In a 2016 memo, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said the site "could cause human and environmental impacts" and warned that hazardous contaminants may have been dumped there, including petroleum-related compounds, PCBs, solvents, dioxins, heavy metals, and possibly pesticides.

DEQ says the testing it recommended is still incomplete. A University of Oregon assessment cited by Lookout Eugene-Springfield also found that it remains uncertain whether contaminants from the old landfill could move through stormwater or leachate toward Salmon Creek and the alluvial aquifer that supplies Oakridge's water.

Residents have also voiced concerns that the project would reverse recent air-quality improvements in the mountain valley, where wildfire smoke is a summer problem, and wood-stove smoke is a winter one.

$7.6 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have funded air-quality improvement projects. Residents now fear that blasting, rock crushing, and heavy truck traffic could wipe out some, if not all, of that progress.

Residents have vowed to continue opposing the project, which they say also risks spoiling the butte's natural beauty. 

"We're going to keep fighting," Ratkowski said, as quoted by Lookout Eugene-Springfield. "The motivation is just love of this place and the people."

Where can I learn more?

Oakridge isn't the only place wrestling with questions about mining, dust, water, and development near sensitive land. These stories follow similar disputes over gravel pits, factory farms, mining projects, and development plans that residents say could threaten drinking water, air quality, or local landscapes.

• In Maine, Berwick ordered a gravel pit review after dust, water, and truck fears grew.

• Oregon groups sued over a factory farm permit they say risks rural drinking water.

• In Helotes, Lennar faced backlash over expanding a controversial project near a vital water source.

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