Owasso rock quarry takes its expansion plans to court

Friday, June 3rd 2005, 12:13 pm

By: News On 6

Some Owasso homeowners continue their fight against the expansion of a quarry. The expansion was rejected by Rogers County Commissioners, but now the quarry is taking the commissioners to court, and the trial begins soon.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan updates the story. It's obvious the product produced at the Anchor Stone Quarry is in high demand. Hundreds of trucks come in and out of the gates every day, picking up and delivering essential materials for construction, and providing good jobs from an abundant natural resource.

For the people nearby, the quarry is a noisy and dusty nuisance - and they sure don't want to see it grow. Neighbor Tommy Conner: "When we moved in here, they said they would blast about once a week and now it's almost every day." Tommy Conner has lived near the quarry for 13 years. He's bothered most by the dust. "This dust, you get it on your car, your air conditioner."

The quarry applied for a permit to expand onto a 75 acre tract next to the current operation. The permit was denied, but the quarry is suing to have the decision reversed. For most of the neighbors, the quarry isn't a new problem; it's been around for years. But as Owasso has grown, the quarry has a lot more neighbors than before. They don't want it to expand; they're tired of the dust, the blasting and especially, the noise. Angela Thrower: "If they increase their production, that's just more dust and noise for us." For Angela Thrower, it's the noise and the blasting that bothers her. "It scares my son, it scares my dog, sometimes it scares me, depending on how loud it is."

The homeowners have hired their own attorney, hoping to keep the quarry from expanding, even closer to some of their homes. The dispute over whether the quarry can expand has dragged on for years, but now it's set for trial this month.

The homeowners are on the side of the Rogers County Board of Commissioners, which denied the quarry's application to expand.