Blasting Quarry Operations: Land Use Compatibility Issues and Potential Property Value Impacts

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 produced by an estimated 1,430 companies operating 3,440 quarries, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries. But, it is also recognized that a quarry blasting below water table one most noxious, toxic destructive uses land, with no reasonable prospect post-extraction-rehabilitation. If permitted established in wrong geographic location, operation can result significant deleterious impacts on environment local inhabitants disrupt short long-term land use planning objectives. Because remain operational 100+ years, impacting five or more generations; quarries have potential cause permanent environmental degradation, destabilize communities, damage, sterilize diminish enjoyment residential non-residential properties, reduce property values. Blasting preferred method extracting rock operation, consequences which lead injury death human non-human life. North America, licensing oversight pit primarily controlled individual states, territories provinces, address matters compliance, while issues related zoning entirely within jurisdiction municipalities, counties regions. Accordingly, this research paper seeks inform planners importance protecting its from adverse effects, including diminution values, associated aggregate extraction operations generally specifically, through onsite setbacks offsite separation distances avoid incompatibility sensitive uses.