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Editor’s Note: This will be the first part of a two part series covering the Alabama Department of Environmental Management public hearing and meeting held on April 8, regarding the proposed Cusetta quarry. This article will cover the public hearing. The second part of the series will cover the public meeting and will appear in Saturday’s edition. 

On Tuesday night, the Chambers County courthouse was a hive of energy. ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) representatives flanked the atrium for a scheduled public hearing period to talk with citizens about the proposed quarry in Cusseta. 

The quarry has been a contentious issue in the county as Cusseta residents have used the time for public comment at County Commission meetings since November 2024 to discuss their concerns about the project. In January, the Commission voted unanimously to request a public hearing and meeting with ADEM concerning the quarry. 

The first part of Tuesday consisted of citizens going to different tables to ask questions and raise their concerns with representatives from ADEM’s air and water divisions, Chambers County officials and representatives from Rocky Glade Fund, LLC, the quarry company. 

The public meeting, where citizens, political officials and Rocky Glade gave statements on public record, took place following the hearing.

ADEM has not approved Rocky Glades air and water permits necessary to open the quarry, as of yet. Lynn Battle, ADEM’s Chief of the Office of External Affairs said the hearings were to “listen and educate the community as best we can.”

The Valley Times-News spoke to representatives from ADEM and Rocky Glade during the public hearing portion of the night. 

“We are very understanding of the community and their concerns, and that’s why we come so that there is clear understanding,” Battle said. “Because we are a government agency, we have to look at the legal ramifications of what can be permitted and what cannot.”

According to an information sheet provided at the hearing, ADEM is authorized to administer both federal and state regulations on air emissions from mineral process plants, like the proposed quarry, and “water discharges” from its operation. 

“Technical reasons that are mentioned at a time like this would be taken into consideration. But by the time we get to this point, we have reviewed the applications, we have decided that we could possibly permit, meaning that the permits are on notice so they have met certain obligations,” Battle said.

She adds that the public hearing and meeting “gives an opportunity for the people in the community to bring anything else forward that should have been considered, should be considered…we actually look at every single comment, and we determine whether that comment is something that would need to be addressed prior to any type of permitting.”

The company wanting to open the proposed quarry and who applied for the permits, Rock Glades Fund, LLC was also present on Tuesday. 

“Obviously, it’s frustrating whenever anyone opposes something that you feel is good for the community,” said Justin Laney with Rocky Glades. “But at the end of the day, we’re just complying with what ADEM and federal regulations, state regulations are telling us.”

Laney and the company’s consulting geologist, Bob Fousek, argue that the quarry would be a net good for the area. 

“One of the things that needs to be understood is that almost everything that we build is composed of aggregate, crushed stone, the street out there [is comprised of] between the 90 and 95% of aggregate,” Fousek explained. “Aggregate is a very low profit margin. Normally, if you have to truck it more than 25 miles, you double the price.”

Laney added, “More businesses will be able to come [to] the area because the cheap product to actually build infrastructure [is here].” 

A vocal concern of the citizens opposing the quarry and the county commission is that the cost to maintain the county roads from the trucks hauling rocks from the quarry will outweigh the money saved on the product and the taxes paid for by the company. A road study is being done by the county to see what the cost for upkeep would be, however it has not been completed at the time of publication.

Fousek said the quarry would bring 10 to 15 jobs to the area. The geologist also addressed the environmental concerns about the site, specifically the worries raised by citizens that the quarry will impact the quality and quantity of well water for local residents and farmers. 

As for the quality of water, Fousek said, “We have to show exactly how we’re going to treat any wastewater. We use water to wash aggregate and to control the dust so that there’s no dust,” Fousek said. “[The water] will go into the initial settling pond, and then as the material and the water settle out, that water will flow into a second pond, and then it’ll go into a cleared pond. By the time it’s in that cleared pond, it’s nice and clear, and then we’ll reuse that water in the crushing site.”

He also spoke on the specific geology of the area. 

“These are what we call crystalline rocks. Aquifers are located in sedimentary rocks … essentially, you’re looking at a slow-flowing underwater river,” Fousek explained.  “However, in crystalline rock, it’s impermeable. Water can’t flow through. So when you drill a well in crystalline rock, you have to intersect the fracture that contains water.”

After the meeting, Fousek talked with VT-N about the concern about the quarry draining local wells and ponds of water. 

“One of the things that [citizens] were mistaken on was they more or less implied that water was trapped within the crystalline rocks, and when that trapped water was exhausted, there would be no more water. That is not true, every rain event recharges that water…for us to totally drain those fractures, we’d have to intercept every fraction, which we will not do.”

He said that while some wells share the fractures, they only extend for so long. Fousek used the example of quarries in Beulah, which is within 1,000 feet of the Halawakee Creek, and Loachapoka, which is within 300 feet of the Sougahatchee Creek. Neither of them has had issues with water taken from the fractures draining the creeks. 

Fousek said in summary that “it’s extremely unlikely that we will affect any wells.”

Following the time for public hearing, the crowd moved into the courtroom to make public statements.