December 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
Although the threat of a cease-and-desist action against the Jones Brothers rock quarry at Liberty looms, no action has yet been taken by the county to enforce the regulations established almost two months ago with passage of the county powers act and apparently none is pending.
Prior to the regular November monthly meeting December 2, County Attorney Hilton Conger reportedly met with the county mayor and county commission in a closed attorney client conference to give legal advice on how to handle enforcement specifically as it relates to two rock quarry companies, Jones Alexandria Quarry on Old Highway 53 Liberty and Smyrna Ready Mix on North Driver Road at Snow Hill, and the McMinnville Energy cryptocurrency mining on South College Street Smithville. Neither of these companies apparently meets the 5,000 foot-distance requirement for their proposed sites as specified in the county powers act resolution. The companies are also required to make application for a local permit. The regulations took effect immediately on adoption by the commission October 28.
Under the regulatory resolution, which was approved by the county commission on an 11-1 vote October 28 “No quarry, rock crusher or gravel pit, cryptocurrency mine, landfill, adult entertainment, or methadone clinic may be located within 5,000 feet of a residence, school, licensed daycare facility, park, recreation center, church, retail, commercial, professional, or industrial establishment. Measurements shall be taken from the nearest recorded property line of the business to the nearest property line or boundary of the foregoing”.
The resolution further provides “In addition to the non-refundable fee of $150, an initial fee of $100 must be paid by the applicant for a permit to operate a quarry, rock crusher, or gravel pit, cryptocurrency mine, landfill, adult entertainment or methadone clinic if the license is granted with an annual $100 permit renewal fee”.
However, under the grandfather clause of the resolution, a provision in section VIII states that the distance requirements shall not apply to quarries, rock crushers or gravel pits, cryptocurrency mines, landfills, adult entertainment or methadone clinics “in existence and in operation” on October 28, 2024. Defining what “in operation” means is proving a topic for debate.
The question then becomes should all three companies — the McMinnville Energy LLC cryptocurrency mining and the Jones Brothers and SRM quarries— be subject to the County Powers Act, or were they already “in operation” when the commission passed it.
After reaching out to County Attorney Conger by phone last Friday, December 6, WJLE received an email response from him on Tuesday indicating that a move by the county to send Jones Brothers a cease-and-desist letter is premature.
“I know we talked about a Cease and Desist letter; however, at this point they (Jones Brothers) haven’t started anything so there’s nothing for them to cease doing. The first step is for them to file an application for a permit. If they start without filing for a permit, then we will send a Cease and Desist letter. You will notice that I copied Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm. That’s the 2 pieces of property where they are proposing to put the quarry. Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm have the same Registered Agent, James F. McCullough, in Mt Juliet. Quarland LLC bought the property from OH 53 LLC whose President is James F. McCulloch, the same person who is the Registered Agent for Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm. I can’t find out anything about Mr. McCullough,” wrote Conger.
In a follow up email to Conger on Wednesday, WJLE asked the following question: Could you give me a statement as to the reasons why the other two companies are not included (in cease and desist), SRM and McMinnville Energy?”
Conger responded by email with the following statement: “I have no problem with you saying you contacted me for an update and that I disclosed that Jones Brothers has been contacted and advised that they need to file an application for a permit to operate a quarry. Based on the location I don’t see it passing the test but we’ll have to wait and see if they even file an application. As for SRM and McMinnville Energy, it is the consensus of a majority of the (county) commission that they would be grandfathered,” wrote Conger.
Members of the public, especially those living near these quarry and cryptomine sites who fought for implementation of the county powers act are now frustrated claiming that Jones Brothers and McMinnville Energy were not “In Existence and in Operation” on October 28 when the county powers act regulations were adopted by the county commission and are still not in operation even today. As for SRM, members of the public also allege it was not legally “in operation” at the time the county powers act passed. The state recently stepped in to halt work at Snow Hill and SRM agreed to remove equipment from the site after a state investigator advised SRM was working there without the required water discharge permit, in violation of state law.
The county powers act requires businesses have all required permits in place before they can file for a local permit to operate. SRM’s state water permit application is pending, but the public has not yet had the opportunity to comment on the permit application, as required.
The following “inspection narrative” was made available by the Division of Mineral & Geological Resources-Mining Section of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in a Mining Facility Inspection Report.
“On November 15, 2024, staff from the Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources – Mining Section, Virginia Lawrence conducted a follow up inspection of the SRM Materials, LLC dba – Smithville Quarry in Smithville, DeKalb County TN, in response to the Notice of Violation issued on August 16, 2024, for operating a mine site without a permit”.
“SRM personnel, Mike Hollingshead and Trevor Wagner were onsite during the inspection. During the inspection, Mining staff confirmed the movement of and continued presence of rock processing equipment on site. SRM personnel relayed that the rock crusher had been run the previous day to test the equipment. The rock hammer attachment on an excavator had been used to break blasted rock into smaller pieces to prepare for crushing. Additionally, mining activities on site have expanded since the last inspection via land clearing, and site entrances have been made accessible for construction and mine traffic”.
“Operating a mining facility which has the potential to discharge process wastewater or industrial stormwater without a proper permit violates the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act of 1977, TCA § 69-3-108(b). In a text message correspondence to Virginia immediately following the inspection, Mr. Hollingshead said “I will move the crusher back and out of the way until you tell me I can crush.” The initial individual NPDES application for the Smithville Quarry was received on September 6, 2024, and deemed incomplete. The most recent revision of this application was received on November 13, 2024, and is currently pending review”.
“At this time, the Smithville Quarry does not have active permit coverage to discharge process wastewater or industrial stormwater. No conditions of water pollution were observed during the investigation. Discharges of wastewater or stormwater were not occurring. Without proper intervention, the loose limestone and sediment on site do have the potential to generate runoff causing a condition of pollution. Mr. Hollingshead agreed to continue establishing Best Management Practices (BMP) to prevent sediment from discharging off site”.
Jones Brothers has filed an application for a water quality permit and citizens were invited to submit written comments back in August. The Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources will hold a public hearing next Tuesday night regarding the proposed issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The public hearing, one of the last steps in the permit application process, will be held December 17 at 6 p.m. at the DeKalb County Complex. An information session will be held at 5 p.m. The proposed permit application is for a new limestone quarry to be named Jones Alexandria Quarry is at 2159 Old Highway 53, Liberty in DeKalb County.