What is the East Jackson County Quarry plan?

The East Jackson County Quarry is designed to ensure a respectful, safe and environmentally responsible operation, including the location, a small mining area within our large property and how we plan to use the site.

We are committed to responsibly building our investment in Jackson County by creating and supporting jobs and economic opportunity while operating safely, reliably and in an environmentally responsible manner.

The project is strategically located off Highway 441 near the southern county line and next to existing commercial and industrial businesses. We will safely extract rock from the ground to make construction aggregates used to build and maintain roads, bridges, homes, businesses, schools and places of worship. 

What are the Community Benefits?

Vulcan’s commitments, community safeguards, protections and benefits are memorialized in a binding Community Benefits Development Agreement. The agreement:

  • Dedicates nearly 200 acres along Chandler Bridge Road for Jackson County to use for conservation and recreation and provides $500,000 for the County to develop the area for parks, open space, or recreation.
  • Provides neighbors within 1,000 feet of the project site with a well protection policy.
  • Maintains air quality and ground vibration monitors to protect air quality and neighboring property.
  • Provides $1.5 million to the County to offset any potential costs associated with the development of this project.
  • Provides 150,000 tons of construction aggregates to help the County repair and maintain existing roads and public infrastructure.
  • Provides neighbors within 2 miles with up to 20 tons per year of free material from the site.
  • Establishes designated truck routes and a road safety partnership with law enforcement.
  • Establishes a Community Advisory Group and a 24/7 community line for issue resolution.

You can read the full agreement HERE.

Where are you in the process?

For nearly two years, we’ve been working with stakeholders, listening to our neighbors and the community to develop a comprehensive proposal that creates community benefits and maintains the quality of life and character of Jackson County. We recently filed (9/3/2024) a Special Use Permit (SUP) application and Community Benefits Development Agreement with the County. The SUP is first considered by the Planning Commission which makes a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. Then the Board of Commissioners would take up both the SUP and the Development Agreement.

How will you use the large property?

We plan to use the property in a safe and environmentally responsible operation to mine and process granite. We will safely extract rock from the ground to make construction aggregates used to build and maintain roads, bridges, homes, businesses schools and places of worship.
Every aspect of the proposed East Jackson County Quarry is designed to ensure a respectful, safe and environmentally responsible operation, including the location, a small mining area within our large nearly property and how we plan to use the site.

  • Property Area: ~900 acres
  • Conservation/Recreation Area: ~200 acres
  • Mining Area: ~25 acres (~10-20 years to complete)
  • Future Mining Area: ~54 acres (~30+ years to complete)
  • Total Mining Area: ~10%
  • Future Plant Area: ~14 acres
  • Earthen Overburden Storage Area: ~20 acres

View the concept plan HERE.

How will you make your products?

We will follow detailed engineering plans to safely and precisely extract the natural granite material for processing and shipping to support local construction and building projects.

  • Rock will be drilled according to plan and safely blasted in the mining area.
  • Haul trucks will transport the rock to the modular plant.
  • The modular plant includes primary and secondary crushers, screens and water sprays to control dust.
  • A loader will feed the rock into the portable plant for processing to customer specifications.
  • A wheel loader will load customer trucks.
  • Customer trucks will be weighed and get a ticket before exiting.
  • The project will be designed and operated to meet or exceed all state and federal requirements and regulations.

How will you screen the site?

The active parts of the property will be screened by large buffer areas, mature-growth trees and vegetated berms that will be built as the project progresses. The mining area (about 10% of the property) is strategically located deep within the site and is more than 1 mile from Chandler Bridge Road and Highway 441. Per the Development Agreement, we are also dedicating nearly 200 acres along Chandler Bridge Road for Jackson County to use for conservation and recreation. This area will NOT be mined.

How will you manage truck traffic?

We are committed to working with our neighbors and the community to responsibly serve the citizens of Jackson County. Our Good Neighbor Trucking Policy is built on neighbor and community feedback, and industry best practices. The following components work together, along with other safeguards and assurances, to encourage and promote safe, responsible customer truck behavior.

  • Customer trucks will be directed to the signalized intersection to safely access Highway 441.
  • Chandler Bridge Road is currently posted “No Trucks over 6 wheels,” which prohibits customer trucks from using this road as a thru-traffic route. Vulcan will reimburse the county for additional signage to reinforce the prohibition and provide truck drivers with additional advance warnings before turning onto a “no truck” road.
  • To discourage customer truck traffic on state-controlled Highway 334 to local deliveries which can only be delivered via Highway 334, Vulcan will maintain a comprehensive customer trucker education and awareness program to actively promote Good Neighbor Routes and the rules of the road through letters to customer truck owners, driver handout materials and signage at the scale check-out point.
  • Vulcan will strongly encourage customer trucks to use Highway 441 as the Designated Truck Route and discourage trucks from using Highway 334 for thru traffic.
  • Neighbors are encouraged to provide feedback on customer truck behavior and complaints to our community line. Vulcan will address concerns and provide information for review by the Community Advisory Group.
  • Vulcan will regularly review Good Neighbor routes with customer truckers and share community feedback and concerns regarding trucker behavior.
  • Vulcan will partner with local law enforcement to host customer trucker education and awareness events and will cooperate with law enforcement seeking information on customer truckers who are alleged to be violating federal, state and local road safety laws.

How will you protect our water and air?

Vulcan has established a strong record of environmental stewardship and operates in an environmentally responsible manner. We will preserve and protect local water resources by recycling water, managing storm water and utilizing effective dust-control measures.
We will meet or exceed local, state and federal laws and regulations proven to protect our workers, community and the environment. In addition to County approval, we will also need permits and approvals from regulatory agencies including Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

  • Mine Permit & Inspections – GAEPD Land Protection Branch protects the surrounding environment (air, water, land) and land reclamation.
  • Air Permit & Inspections – GAEPD Air Protection Branch regulates emissions from plant equipment, product stockpiles and haul roads.
  • Water Permit & Inspections – GAEPD Watershed Protection Branch regulates discharges into the Water of the U.S. and protects water quality standards for surface waters.
  • Water Quality Certification – GAEPD Watershed Protection Branch regulates water and quality standards (streams and wetlands) and requires site visits during permitting phases.
  • USEPA requires a Spill Prevention Control Countermeasure “SPCC” Plan. These plans help facilities prevent oil spills, as well as control a spill should one occur.
  • USACE requires 404 Permits and site visits during permitting phases (streams and wetlands) and regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into Waters of the U.S.

How will you protect groundwater?

A third-party expert studied the proposed design and operational plan, including the mining pit location and the underlying geology of the site, and determined the aquifer and neighboring groundwater wells will be protected by impervious rock. As an additional safeguard, we will provide neighbors within 1,000 feet of the project site with a well protection policy. Vulcan is also required by law to construct and maintain erosion and sediment controls and follow spill prevention plans and procedures.

How do you plan to operate safely?

Safety guides everything we do. We prioritize a safe work culture by recruiting and hiring people who are as committed to safety as we are. East Jackson County Quarry will be regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) which sets high operational and training standards and regularly inspects mining sites.
We are committed to:

  • Maintaining safe, engineered blasting procedures to protect our people, neighboring properties and the community.
  • Monitoring all blasting through an independent third party.
  • Consistently meeting or doing better than the regulated safety blasting limits which are designed to protect people, property and structures.
  • Establishing designated truck routes and a road safety partnership with law enforcement.

How often will you blast?

  • Blasting is a necessary part of the production process
  • Each blast is custom designed, modeled and executed by an engineering team and certified, trained professionals.
  • Each blast lasts less than one second, and is individually engineered to account for the geology, geometry and location.
  • We would typically blast about 2-3 times per month, during daylight hours.
  • Our engineers use laser profiling and digital modeling to predict specific shot behavior that is far below scientifically proven limits proven to be safe.

How is blasting regulated?

Blasting is regulated by the State of Georgia as part of our mining permit which sets strict requirements for procedures, limits, monitoring, record keeping and reporting. The limits follow U.S. Bureau of Mines safety standards that are scientifically proven to be safe.

How is blasting monitored?

Our blasting program will be monitored by an independent third party.

  • Each blast is required to be monitored at a distance no farther than the closest off-site regularly occupied structure not owned or leased by Vulcan.
  • Our monitoring network will measure ground vibration and air blast overpressure, providing real-time data to our engineers and operations teams.
  • We will report data to the Community Advisory Group.

How do nearby buildings and structures react to blasting?

Structures react in predictable and proven ways based on science and available data. Scientific research has extensively shown that is blasting activities do not regularly produce vibration levels that exceed limits set by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the cosmetic damage potential (and thereby structure damage potential from blasting is zero.

How will the Community Advisory Group work?

Vulcan will establish a Community Advisory Group (CAG) with the purpose of bringing together Vulcan’s local operations team and community representatives to:

  • Share operational updates
  • Report data, including blast monitoring, environmental data and safety data
  • Discuss community feedback and issues
  • Answer questions

CAG meetings will be open to the public and include a designated time for public comments.