A suburban quarry has begun underground mining activities, and the loud sounds and the loud booms and shock waves are causing big concerns to some residents.
One of those residents, Debbie Garrison of Brookfield, says that she keeps patching cracks in her walls, and she also says that the underground mining has caused cracks to form in her driveway.
“It just rattles the house, and sounds like really bad thunder,” she says.
The blasts are nothing new to residents in the area, but they have grown more frequent in recent weeks. Last month, Hanson Material Service, the owners of the Federal Quarry in McCook, sent a letter to residents saying that it was stepping up its operations.
“The underground mining activities include drilling and blasting approximately six times per week in order to dislodge limestone deposits for further processing,” plant manager Ryan Murphy wrote in the letter. “As we refine our internal process related to underground activities, this schedule may be adjusted. We are not mining under your house, we are only mining on our property.”
Despite the assurances, neighbors around the quarry say that dust from the blasts is settling onto their homes.
“Maybe they should water the dust down at the end of the day,” she said.
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The Village of La Grange has a note to residents on its website, saying that anyone with concerns is encouraged to call the Lyons Township Quarry Council at 1-866-934-3278.
“Until mining operations cease, impacts from blasting will never be completely eliminated,” the village says. “However, a cooperative communication effort will help keep disturbances to a minimum.”
While Garrison says that the blasts are nothing new, she says that she’s worried that the increasing frequency of the explosions has her worried about her property.
“It scares me because I don’t know if they are going to damage the structure of the building or if they are going to break the pipes under the home,” she said.
Garrison says that she has no plans to move from the area, saying she likes the neighborhood.
An advisory committee set up by two local quarries tells NBC 5 that it has only received two complaints since the letter about increased mining operations went out.
