Blasting project at cemetery is registered as quarry

:= [City Edition]
MIA TAYLOR. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.<= span class=3DGramE>:Mar 11, 1999. p. 16c

Abstract (Summary)

Contractors blasting rock ledge at Blue Hill Cemetery have registered the project as a quarry with the federal government, despite local bylaws that<= br> prohibit quarry operations on the property.

Carl Liddeke, a supervisor for the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), confirmed yesterday that the site has been registere= d as
a quarry since 1993.

MSHA is a federal agency similar to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. It conducts unannounced, annual safety inspections of quarr= y
and mining operations, Liddeke said.

Full Text (599 words)

Copyright Patriot Ledger Mar 11, 1999

BRAINTREE -- Contractors blasting rock ledge at Blue Hill Cemetery have
registered the project as a quarry with the federal government, despite loc= al
bylaws that prohibit quarry operations on the property.

Carl Liddeke, a supervisor for the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), confirmed yesterday that the site has been registere= d as
a quarry since 1993.

"Anytime anybody takes material from the earth, such as crushed stone,= or sand,
or gravel, and it goes into commerce, they must have a federal (quarry)
identification number," Liddeke said.

MSHA is a federal agency similar to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. It conducts unannounced, annual safety inspections of quarr= y
and mining operations, Liddeke said.

The fact that the work being done at Blue Hill Cemetery is registered as a<= br> quarry has caused outrage among nearby residents, who have long been
complaining that the work far exceeds the parameters of the permit issued b= y
the town.

In 1989, cemetery owner G= erald Ridge obtained a pe= rmit from the town for rock
and soil removal. The rock is being removed to create more space for graves= .
After blasting, the rock is crushed and sold.

Ridge's original permit was issued under a section of the town's bylaw that=
allows removal of soils incidental to landscaping, according to code compli= ance
officer Michael McGourty. = McGourty maintains the operation is a quarry, which
is defined as the removal of rock for commercial purposes.

The cemetery is on land zoned for open space and conservation, and quarries= of
any size are not allowed there.

Last August the town obtained a cease and desist order to stop the blasting= .
But in November, a Norfolk County Superior Court judge issued a 16-page rul= ing
reversing that order.

McGourty said last week that he has informed to= wn counsel Arthur Smith of the
fact that the cemetery is registered as a quarry with the federal governmen= t.
The town is pursuing court action to put a stop to the blasting, McGourty said.

"Quarries are not allowed and if their argument is that they're not a quarry,
then why would they have registered as a quarry?" McGourty said.

Ridge's attorney, Frank Marinelli, said registering with MSHA in order to trigger safety reviews of the work site has nothing to do with the zoning issues surrounding the property. Marinelli said the contractor, S.M. Lorusso &
Sons, fully supports safety review and inspections of their work sites.

"Our position is that the intermediate process (blasting) does not def= ine the
primary use," Marinelli said. "We're taking down ledge on 32 acre= s to match the
existing grade on 64 acres. If our primary purpose was to operate a quarry<= span class=3DGramE>,
we'd be digging straight down 200 feet."

"Because something has an intermediate, evolutionary stage, that stage does not
define the finished project," Marinelli added.

But Carole Lewis of Eleano= r Drive disagrees.

Lewis is one of many nearby residents who says t= hat blasting at the cemetery
has damaged her home. It was Lewis who stumbled upon the federal quarry per= mit.

Out of frustration with the ongoing blasting Lewis began calling various
federal agencies to see what could be done. She stumbled on MSHA and passed= on
what she learned to the town.

"It's a legal quarry and they've been telling us all along that it's n= ot a
quarry," Lewis said.

Right now, blasting at the cemetery is on hold while the state fire marshal= 's
office investigates a recent blasting accident that led to rocks flying 800=
feet and into the yards of homes.

A report on the incident is expected from the fire marshal's office within<= br> days.

Credit: The Patriot Ledger

Indexing (document details)

Author(s): MIA TAYLOR

Section: News

Publication title: The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.: Mar 11, 1999. = pg. 16.c

Source type: Newspaper

ProQuest document 397= 41247
ID:

Text Word Count 599

Document URL: http://proquest.umi.co= m/
pqdweb?did=3D39741247&Fmt=3D3&clientId=3D4257= 6&RQT=3D309&VName=3DPQD

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D
Document 3 of 7