BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

STOCKHOLM — A mining operation that began as a 2.3 acre rock quarry is still hoping to expand operations by modifying a special use permit, despite plans changing after consulting with neighbors in the area. 

The mining operation, known as Catamount Ridge Quarry, is owned by James Sheehan as part of a 172 acre parcel he owns along County Route 49 and Catamount Ridge Road. 

Residents like Doug Douglas had previously raised concerns about the operation, citing plans to put an access road to Catamount Ridge Road, moving the scale houses and stockpiles of recently mined stone near that road. He said those plans would impact even more residential neighbors in the area that are already impacted. 

Douglas, who has lived on County Route 49 for more than 30 years, said the operation originally sought to expand and bend the previously agreed upon boundary of 500 feet from the county highway. 

But when plans of an access road to Catamount Ridge Road came to light, Douglas said he and other residents became even more concerned. 

“The plan called for allowing them to put a road over there and to be within 250 feet of the highway,” he told the town of Stockholm Planning Board July 8 during a public hearing. 

Plans to put the road in are no longer on the table, but the area that abuts Catamount Ridge Road will now be used for stockpiling materials, planning board members said. 

Eight residents in the area were on hand to speak to their concerns, saying the operation would have a significant impact on them with noise, dust and blasting. 

As it currently stands, operations can start at 6 a.m., a change that Planning Board Chair Robin McClellan said will likely come with code review and revision this year. 

Douglas added that Barrett Paving is not allowed to operate before 7 a.m. despite being in a largely non-residential area with “houses nowhere near as close” as they are at Catamount. 

Douglas and other residents also raised concerns about the berm locations and heights that are currently planned, saying that some needed to be extended, while others needed to be taller. 

Quarry supervisor Russell Thompson pointed to the request to maintain vegetation in some areas as a reason for the height of some berms being under 20 feet. 

“Some are going to be dog hills because there will be vegetation left in that area. Other spots will be skimmed, so the berm won’t be as high in those areas to start but they’ll still be eight to 10 feet,” he told the concerned residents. 

Thompson also said berms would be expanded in some areas that border neighbors who live in close proximity to where the stockpiles of materials would be held. 

“That whole section would have a berm along it, 20 feet along some of it,” he said during the meeting. 

Thompson said the berm would mitigate noise and dust significantly, something McClellan also noted. 

“The key would be to place the berm either closer to the noise generated or to the residence. Putting it, sort of, kind of in the middle of the two would not do nearly as much to mitigate the noise and dust,” he said. 

Douglas said that while the berms would be helpful, paving certain stretches of the access roads would help with dust mitigation significantly. 

“I don’t know if that would be 50 feet, 100 feet, but that’s something that should be done too,” he said. 

McClellan agreed, joking that he “knows a guy who will give you a good price on paving.” 

Douglas also suggested that all trucks be watered before the materials are trucked out, saying he was “sure that the water being used isn’t metered” despite having a minimum requirement for total water usage in the existing DEC permit.

“You’re right, it’s not metered,” Thompson said. 

Douglas also pointed to taxation as a point of contention, saying that while some town board members argued Sheehan paid “significant taxes” for the property, adjacent residents paid far more. 

“I looked at the tax numbers. All of us around the mine pay twice as much in taxes at Jimmy Sheehan. I’m not saying it’s insignificant but I don’t want to overstate the economic impact the (town) board commented on,” he said. 

Douglas also commented on the 14 previous special use permit modifications made over the past 20 plus years, saying mistakes were made along the way. One such mistake he said was made revolved around the location of the existing access road.

“That access road in operation is illegal by the way. I’m not saying it’s anything you guys did, it’s all from folks that handled this before. But mistakes were made in the past and we want to make sure they don’t keep happening,” he said. 

Douglas said those mistakes have consequences for the residents in the area, which is why they are trying to head off changes that can further worsen the situation. 

Though residents and Thompson may not have necessarily agreed on every aspect of the site plan, the hearing remained cordial, with Thompson, Douglas, other residents in attendance and McClellan sharing ideas to find a mutual solution that will work for the mining operation and residents alike.

“My intention here is to ensure that the residents in that area will be impacted as little as possible without interfering with the mining operation. I hope we can work out a mutually beneficial solution for both parties. Obviously, not everyone is going to be totally happy and that’s the struggle we have today,” McClellan said during the meeting. 

He said the planning board has put in significant hours on the permit, likely over 30 hours, nearing 40 hours total. 

“This is the most work we have ever put in for a special use permit. Obviously, this is a very different situation that we normally encounter but we are taking this very seriously and want to make sure we get this right for everyone,” he said. 

Douglas said he and the residents appreciated the efforts of McClellan and the board on the matter, saying he hopes to work collaboratively with them on the matter. 

“We know this isn’t easy, we understand the position (you’re in.) We just ask that Jim Sheehan be a good neighbor and do what he can to control dust and noise,” Douglas said. 

No action can be taken during a public hearing, so residents and officials will meet again next week on July 16 during a planning board meeting to possibly take action on the special use permit.