August 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
All shook up!
The State Fire Marshal’s office has opened an investigation after receiving complaints from residents in the Snow Hill area who were shaken by a big blast Wednesday afternoon from a concrete company doing prep work for a quarry on North Driver Road off Highway 70 at the foot of the hill.
Unaware that the company, Smyrna Ready Mix (SRM) had even moved into the neighborhood, two of the residents who felt the blast, Michael and his son Lucas Antoniak, said they tracked down the source of the explosion and found work underway for a 100-acre rock quarry. According to the Antoniak’s, some rock from the blast was also on the highway.
The SRM Concrete Company, headquartered in Smyrna serves customers in 19 states with more than 8,500 team members, and now is batching concrete from a new location in Smithville (Highway 70 east near the city limits). However, the public has largely been unaware of any plans for a quarry operation at the location near Snow Hill.
Kevin Walters, Communications Director for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, confirmed through a public records request Friday, that citizen complaints have been filed, from Michael and Lucas Antoniak, about this matter and added that while the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office has opened an investigation “we do not comment about open investigations,” said Walters.
The Antoniak’s question how a quarry operation could start up in a neighborhood without public notice and local government oversight.
Michael Antoniak said he reached out to the state for answers and was told by an official of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, who issues water discharge permits, that any oversight or review beyond a water discharge permit for a quarry (issued by state) depends on local zoning/planning regulations. The DeKalb County government has no such zoning/planning regulations.
In his complaint filed with the state, Lucas Antoniak explained what he experienced when the blast occurred around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. He also recalled the incident for WJLE Friday morning.
““I live on Old Snow Hill Road in Dowelltown and I work from home,” said Antoniak. “I have a sturdy work bench where I do my art and graphic designs. I was sitting there, and my wife and daughter were in another room when all of a sudden everything just started shaking. It shook so violently for about 5 to 10 seconds, and we heard a boom at the same time. We had no idea what this was. My desk shook so violently that I could feel the vibrations coming through the floor. My wife said she saw the floor roll in the room she was in and my daughter saw everything falling. I then called the sheriff’s office and reported that we felt this,” he said.
“Within a few minutes, I drove down Highway 70 to investigate and observed heavy dust in the air, smelled strong Sulphur, and saw large rocks in the middle of the highway near 336 North Driver Road off of Highway 70, approximately 1/2 mile from my location (“as the crow flies).” I did not see any notices that blasting was occurring in the area. I took a photo of the dust in the air, but it does not show up well in the photo,” Antoniak continued.
“Within the hour, I learned that SRM Concrete recently opened a plant in Smithville and was starting a new quarry at that location. I immediately called their contact Lora Smith and reported this explosion and its affect. Ms. Smith took down my information with a promise to return my call with more details, but I’ve heard nothing yet,” explained Antoniak.
“Subsequently, around 4 pm, my father and I travelled to the (blasting) location and talked to the foreman from SRM. We told him about the large rocks in the road and he followed us out to inspect. When we came back through approximately 30 minutes later, the large rocks were no longer on the highway,” he said.
“Every neighbor felt this blast, some reporting it more than a mile away. Our neighbors two houses up from us, an older woman and her mother, reported their TV falling off the wall. Another reported to my parents that the blast “Shook our house on Dale Ridge, loudest blast we’ve ever experienced, CRAZY.”
“No one locally knew about this incoming quarry, including our local county commissioner Mr. Myron Rhody,” said Antoniak.
“We are accustomed to our rural life, as are all of our neighbors. Additionally, my aunt and uncle own property directly across from this location (with a currently unoccupied house approximately 650-700 feet from the location of the blast.) There is concern about the long-term effects on the local environment especially the creeks and wildlife, air quality, property value, possible light pollution in the long run, and impact on the quality of life in general,” Antoniak concluded.
Lucas’s father, Michael Antoniak, also filed a complaint with the state to give his account of what happened.
“I live on Snows Hill in DeKalb County and on the afternoon of July 31 this area was shaken by a massive blast sometime around 3 pm”.
“My son and I tried to track down the source and on Highway 70 near North Driver Road we spotted several softball sized rocks in the turning lane near 336 North Driver Road. We could hear heavy machinery nearby and could see exposed rock, so we drove there to see what has going on,” said Antoniak.
“We met and spoke with a “Chad” with SRM Jones and Stones. He explained they were doing prep work for a quarry on 100 acres the company recently purchased there for a new rock quarry”.
“This was the first anyone knew about plans for a quarry at this location, 336 North Driver Road, Dowelltown,” explained Antoniak.
“He was straightforward with all his answers and said they had just conducted a blast”.
“Also asserted was that there were no houses within 1,200 feet. I explained my sister owned the property directly across road and her house, empty, is within about 650 feet. I also advised him that many neighbors were upset, calling back and forth about the blast, how it shook their homes, etc. and anxious to know the source”.
“I did not see any sort of blasting mat and advised Chad there were rocks from the blast in the middle of the highway, which could have killed someone”.
“When we drove out, he followed us in his truck and the rocks were still lying in the center lane of highway. We drove down the highway. Later when we drove back that way the rocks were gone,” said Antoniak.
WJLE reached out Thursday and Friday to SRM company spokesperson Lora Smith for a statement about the blast at the telephone number and email address provided on the SRM website, but WJLE has not yet received a response.
SRM Concrete does have a press release on its website about the new concrete batching plant in Smithville as follows:
“SRM Concrete is now batching concrete from a new location in Smithville, Tennessee. The new site will help bridge a service gap between existing locations.
SRM Concrete CEO, Jeff Hollingshead stated, “We’re thrilled to have a new plant running in Smithville. We look forward to improving our service to our customers in the area, providing new jobs, and engaging in the community.”
With over 8,500 team members, SRM Concrete is the largest ready-mix concrete manufacturer in the country. Established in 1999 by Mike and Melissa Hollingshead in Smyrna, Tennessee, the family-owned company owns and operates an expansive network of ready-mix concrete plants, quarries, cement terminals, and other ancillary services across 19 states. SRM Concrete focuses on producing and providing building material services across the commercial and residential construction segments”.