Blasting Quarry Operations: Land Use Compatibility Issues and Potential Property Value Impacts
Journal Title: Journal of Environmental Law & Policy - Year 2022, Vol 2, Issue 03
Abstract
Aggregate resources are essential for road and building construction. In 2019, the US domestic production reached 1.53 billion tons of crushed stone valued at $18.7 billion produced by an estimated 1,430 companies operating 3,440 quarries, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries. But, it is also recognized that a quarry blasting below the water table is one of the most noxious, toxic and destructive uses of land, with no reasonable prospect of post-extraction-rehabilitation. If permitted and established in the wrong geographic location, a blasting quarry operation can result in significant deleterious impacts on the environment and local inhabitants and can disrupt short and long-term land use planning objectives. Because a quarry can remain operational for 100+ years, impacting five or more generations; quarries have the potential to cause permanent environmental degradation, destabilize communities, damage, sterilize or diminish the use and enjoyment of residential and non-residential properties, and reduce property values. Blasting is the preferred method of extracting rock in a quarry operation, the consequences of which can lead to environmental and property damage, and to injury or death of human and non-human life. In North America, licensing and operational oversight of a pit or quarry are primarily controlled by the individual states, territories and provinces, and address matters of compliance, while issues related to land use planning and zoning are entirely within the jurisdiction of the local municipalities, counties or regions. Accordingly, this research paper seeks to inform land use planners of the importance of protecting the environment and its inhabitants from the adverse effects, including the diminution in property values, associated with aggregate extraction operations generally and blasting quarries specifically, through the use of permanent onsite setbacks and offsite separation distances to avoid land use incompatibility and sensitive land uses.
Authors and Affiliations
Tony Sevelka
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP716505
- DOI 10.33002/jelp02.03.01
- Views 30
- Downloads 0
Using Clean Energy for Sustainable Development in Vietnam: Facts and Solutions
Using clean energy is a recent trend around the world. It is a good way to protect the environment and implement the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Following that trend, in recent years, the Vietnam...
Biodiversity and Conservation: Cross-Border Legal and Regulatory Perspectives
This article provides an overview of the legal and policy frameworks for the protection of threatened and vulnerable wildlife on private lands in Canada and the United States, the approaches adopted in different jurisdic...
Exploring the Lessons of the Kimberley Process for Climate Change Action
There has been a great deal of academic discourse about policy and governance choices embedded in the UNFCCC-based regimes for Climate Change action, and they point to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of such regimes...
Prospects and Challenges to Prove Environmental Harm in Litigation: Status Quo In Nigeria
Environmental litigation and enforcement of environmental rights remain a global challenge to sustainability, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. The increasing rates of industrial activities have led to...
Legal Support to the Protection of Land and Soil in Light of New Regulations of Ukraine
In this article, regulations on land and soil protection are studied in a chronological sequence and in the historical and legal contexts. The main factors responsible for the deterioration of the quality of land resourc...