A north Alabama family's year-long "nightmare" is on pause after a county judge ordered a limestone quarry to cease operations to minimize harm to residents and local churches.
Brad Vice, one of the plaintiffs represented by Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in a suit against the quarry operators, testified that he and his wife, Brittney, lived peacefully in their rural, unincorporated Belle Mina community for nine years until blasting began.
In a Jan. 7 hearing, he said he is now thinking of leaving the area, as dust, light, and noise pollution have caused "unimaginable" upheaval, according to Inside Climate News.
SELC wrote that residents said they can no longer enjoy their outdoor spaces, as constant air pollution coats toys, furniture, and cars, while heavy-duty trucks create dangerous conditions and congestion on a two-lane road as they drive back and forth as many as 1,000 times per day.
"We don't let our daughter play outside. The dust has altered our lifestyle completely," Vice testified, per ICN. His daughter Brecken, who is two years old, has asthma, according to court documents. Another one of the plaintiffs, Sandra Diaz, said she struggles with asthma and chronic sinusitis.
While Limestone county judge Matthew Huggins ruled that the plaintiffs — four churches and three individuals — didn't sufficiently document their health concerns for them to be considered in the decision, per ICN, he ordered the quarry to halt operations until it met certain conditions.
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The injunction stipulates that the quarry must move temporary rock-crushing areas at least 1,200 feet from the plaintiffs' properties; forbids operators from erecting artificial light sources visible to properties; bans loud activities from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; and orders operators to hasten the completion of a permanent truck entrance for the convenience and safety of the community.
Attorneys for Stoned LLC, one of the defendants in the suit — along with Elephants R Us LLC, Landquest Properties LLC, and Grayson Carter & Son Contracting, Inc. — declined to comment on the matter to ICN.
While SELC said the quarry's owners had previously sued two of the churches involved in a suit "in an attempt to silence and punish them for exercising their right to oppose the harmful impacts of the quarry," that case was rejected. This case will go to trial in April, per ICN.
Vice hopes this is merely the first step in holding the quarry operators accountable. Elsewhere, community-led pushback has delayed or halted projects that don't align with local goals.
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$200 or more 💰 "We're very pleased the judge heard the evidence and applied the law to limit the unnecessary mayhem community members are enduring," said Sarah Stokes, a senior attorney at the SELC. "They did nothing to deserve this chaos. That's why they intend to fight this to the end."
"We are grateful for this immediate relief from the nightmare we've been living for months," Vice said. "I am hopeful the court will continue to take the harm this quarry is causing seriously as we continue this fight for our rights to live a normal life on our own property."
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