Lies and Damn Lies

This was from the latest White Rock Quarries ad,  June 16, 2010 The Daily Home,  put out by WRQ in the local paper under the heading of :

White Rock's Vincent Hills Quarry.

What it will and will not do for Vincent.

Item 6 0f 7:

IT WILL NOT POLLUTE THE WATER.

Limestone quarries pose no environmental threat to groundwater quality. In fact, it is common for cities to seek out quarry water for their drinking water because of its purity.

Remember, White Rock never had a water citation--or even environmental citation of any kind.

Really?


What about the benzene issues in Florida? "5-12 times the EPA levels after two WRQ blasts in monitoring well # 1." (See link to Miami New Times story "Poisoned well" to the right)


What about the EPA reports for WRQ showing "no data returned" in most fields? What about the lack of EPA inspections? The state agency, DERM and the local boards and commissioners in those areas are documented as being corrupt and not willing to take on the "powerful rock mining interests." John Renfrow of DERM, even admits in news stories that he was aware the mining companies, WRQ was one of them, were operating with expired permits or NO permits.
(links to the right)


What about the established science that quarries do degrade ground water quality in numerous USGS and industry publications?


What about the by-products of petroleum products from blasting and machinery that are recognized in these same publications that ground water degradation and contamination from quarrying is a "continuing ground water management problem in sensitive environmental area such as karst terrains?"


What about the city of Calera, Alabama and their water quality degradation that is well-documented from the nearby quarries?


Most communities turn to the quarries for their water supply not because of "its purity", but because the quarry has intercepted ground flow conduits and robbed the communities of their water supply. Or they have contaminated it so badly (also in Calera and Alabaster) that the cities are forced to find alternative supplies. Since the quarries have pirated their water, there is often no where else to turn but to the very entity that took it in the first place.

That results in the communities having to spend millions to build and maintain a water treatment facility (Calera is still in trouble with this now.) 


Vincent Mayor Ray McAllister says; "All we have to do is turn a few valves and we can hook up to New London or Shelby County's water system." What he does not admit, that an insider does, is that under periods of drought neither system will be able to handle the increased demand from having Vincent on its systems.

Item 4

IT WILL NOT OPERATE LIKE A DUSTY OLD TECHNOLOGY QUARRY

The latest and best dust suppression technologies will be used, including covered conveyors and transfer points and wet suppression of fugitive dust. The main crusher will be located 80 feet below ground level to reduce dust and noise.

We will give the aggregate industry credit for trying to improve it's technologies and methods.


That said, drive through Calera and Alabaster on any particular day and see an example of the "latest and best technologies" and their effects on their surrounding areas.


To quote an Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Inspector; "I drive all over the state in my inspections and when I get into the Highway 25 area and see the dust all over everything, I ask myself; Do you think there are air violations going on here?"


Looking back at the proposal from the Martin Marietta quarry which opened in 2002, they used the same language regarding dust as WRQ is parroting now. Still, there is dust everywhere. One man in Alabaster we recently talked to, who lives one mile from a quarry, says he has dust problems at that distance.


What WRQ knows is that Shelby County and ADEM will not hold their "feet to the fire" and make them follow through on these "good neighbor promises."


WRQ knows this and once again they are deliberately and intentionally trying to mislead the public with this ad. Despite Mr. Hurley's recent proclamations of; "We have never tried to mislead you, never tried to twist the facts to boost our argument, or confuse the issue with misleading facts or information."


It's not just lies, but "rock solid" damn lies.