Kinnickinnic: Residents concerned about new quarry

Rob K.
River Falls, WI     03/12/2010 8:34 PM

Complaining about a Quarry on "Quarry Road" is like complaining about an old landfill on "Dump Road". Kraemer has an excellent reputation. The Limestone is quite valuable and needed for road projects. The economic benefits of this endeavor will benefit many people for many years at a minimum of an environmental cost. The DNR has reclamation policies that will ensure proper land value replacement.

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David P.
03/12/2010 6:08 PM

Although I am a resident on Quarry Road, my comment comes as an economist. This is a classic example of a negative externality. As I explain to my students, negative externalities occur when an individual or firm making a decision does not have to pay the full cost of the decision, this results in market inefficiencies. The benefit to the land owner of reopening this quarry is clear, revenue from the sale of the aggregate and increasing the value of the land that has been laid bare by previous quarrying activities. The private costs are also clear, the costs that the current owner must pay to reopen and operate this quarry. What is not so clear are the indirect social costs involved in reopening this quarry. It is my opinion that the decrease in property value of nearby homeowners, the increased heavy truck traffic in the area, the cost of a new stop light at Quarry Road/Main Street, the increase in noise, dust, ground movement from detonations, and any environmental consequences to the Kinnickinnic River far outweigh the benefit to having an operating quarry adjacent to the city of River Falls. If society needs aggregate for its roads and construction there are several other quarries in the area that do not lead to additional social costs for the community.

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DAVID L.
River Falls, WI     03/12/2010 1:22 PM

There are numerous quarries in the River Falls area. The Rohl quarry is just north of town on county road 'U'. There is a quarry between RF and Prescott another in Hudson one between Ellsworth and Prescott and many more. Why in the world would you want to open and expand a quarry so close to the city limits and next to a residential area. If this quarry is allowed to open it could be there for 30 to 50 years. I can't imagine living next to a working quarry for this lenght of time and listening to the blasting, crushing, trucks, back-up bells on trucks or the dust created from all the work. You can't build a barrier large enough that will contain the noise and dust from this type of operation. In last weeks Journal there was an article regarding a lawsuit filed in Pierce County about an open quarry. This is not a good idea!

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