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After electing Tom Taylor as new mayor, Maryville City Council unanimously approved a historic settlement that confines Vulcan Materials Co. quarrying operation to the property closest to Court Street and imposes environmental restrictions on use of the creek, noise, dust and trucks.

The settlement comes after years of contention between the Vulcan operators of the rock quarry, located between Court Street/Duncan Road and Montvale Road, and the city and residents. When the quarrying started on the J.T. Trotter farm in the 1940s the site was surrounded by farmland, but over the years residences were developed around the quarry.

Maryville's attorney Bill Vines said the settlement "is very favorable to the city."

Vulcan officials released a statement calling the agreement "truly in the best interests of everyone."

In early 2008, council moved to declare that "quarry operations within the city of Maryville constitute a nuisance."

Vulcan wanted to move its blasting operation toward better and/or more abundant rock closer to the Montvale Road side of the property and the city refused to permit the use, because that land was zoned environmental conservation.

Vulcan and the Trotter heirs sued the city, claiming that, through grandfathering rights, all four parcels of property were available for quarrying.

The city contended from the first that Vulcan had the right to quarry rock on the initial site where quarrying began in the 1940s, where the 300-footdeep pit is located, Vines said. That parcel contains 104.67 acres of land. Vulcan contended that another parcel of 17 acres adjoining the main quarry tract off Court Street had also been the site of earlier quarrying activity.

In essence, Vulcan and the owners agreed to discontinue the litigation upon the city's agreement that the two parcels were grandfathered.

Parcels with 127 acres adjoining Montvale Road and 27 acres off Court Street and Trotter Lane have no grandfather rights and those tracts are subject to city zoning, which prohibits quarrying. This was the area in which Vulcan really wanted to keep quarrying, an area with rock that would have kept them in business for many years in the future, Vines said.

Environmental restrictions

The city also insisted on environmental restrictions.

Vulcan agreed that it will pump the necessary water into Duncan Branch to sustain existing aquatic life, meaning no less than 462 gallons per minute into the creek. Water will be first used to maintain the creek, not for the quarrying operation, Vines said. In times of drought, if there is insufficient water for pumping, the obligation will not be effective for that period of time.

Vulcan will pay the city $25,000 per year for 10 years up to $250,000 as a partial security guarantee it will keep that creek flowing, he added.

During blasting, the allowable particle velocity will not exceed 0.75 inches per second and 140 decibels as measured by seismograph instruments, and Vulcan will target 0.5 inches per second (claimed to be one-fourth of that allowed by law). Blasting times will be limited.

Concerning dust, Vulcan agreed to use all reasonable means to prevent dust from going onto adjacent property, Vines said.

While the company denies causing sinkholes, Vulcan will repair sinkholes occurring on adjacent property, which occur within 30 yards of Duncan Branch from the point of discharge to Court Street.

Vulcan also agreed to make an effort to prevent any accumulation of dust off trucks on roads. And if they do make the roads dirty, Vulcan will pay the cleanup cost.

The company agreed to sustained noise level not to exceed 75 decibels and never more than 90 decibels. At night, only 70 decibels will be allowed under general circumstance.

While law does not require that quarries be reclaimed, Vulcan agreed that if no quarrying occurs for a period of one year there will be some reclamation of the site, Vines said. A reclamation plan is to be submitted within 120 days.

The city can request additional berming. However, no overburden from the quarry can be placed within 1,000 feet of Montvale Road to keep that area open, Vines said.

The agreement means Vulcan will do more blasting in the area previously occupied by Harrison Construction Company Division of APAC of Tennessee.

Vines said the settlement does not affect the right of property owners to sue Vulcan if they sustained damage from company activities.

Some Windsor Park homeowners protested that the recent blasts closer to Court Street shook their entire residences. They also complained about the noise.

Vulcan was there before there was any zoning on that particular property, Vines said.

"This is not the end but it is the beginning of the end," he said.

"I have never been prouder of a client that I was of the city of Maryville," he said. There were many times when the city could have capitulated to Vulcan's demands.

Instead, the city chose to do "what is in the best interest of the citizens. When you are right and you stand your ground, it is a win fore the city," Vines concluded.

Joe Swann, who did not seek another term as mayor, was the councilman who doggedly spearheaded the effort to get the settlement, Taylor said.

Vulcan's statement said the settlement will allow the company to continue to operate while keeping construction costs as low as possible "since 90 percent of our material is used in Blount County."